THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  ILLINOIS 
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NEW-YORK: 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF   THE  RISE   AND    PROGRESS 


OF  THE 


^Tdroplitan  Citj  of  %\\mm. 


BY    A    NEAV-YORKER. 


V?*>w. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PUBLISHED   BY   CARLTON   &  PHILLIPS, 

200    MULBERRY-STREKT. 
1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853, 

BY   CAELTON   &   PHILLIPS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 

of  Xew-York. 


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PREFACE. 


The  growing  magnitude  and  increased  accessibility  of  the 
city  of  New- York,  are  constantly  making  that  city  more  and 

'C^    more  a  subject  of  interest  in  every  part  of  the  country.     At 
the  same  time,  and  by  the  operation  of  the  same  causes,  its 
history  is  becoming  less  and  less  familiar  to  the  multitudes 
-^     that  make  up  its  vast  population.     It  is  gratifying,  however, 

0:2  to  be  assured  that  the  materials  of  the  city's  history  are  not 
likely  to  perish.  During  the  past  half-century  many  indi- 
viduals have  manifested  a  praiseworthy  regard  for  this  sub- 
ject, and  have  done  much  to  collect  and  -preserve  the  perish- 
able materials  of  our  city's  local  history.    But  especial  honor, 

<w     in  this  respect,  is  due  to  the  New- York  Historical  Society,  by 

the  indefatigable  industry  and  liberal  enthusiasm  of  whose 

_^     members  many  a  buried  relic  has  been  exhumed,  and  many 

j![p  a  fading  reminiscence  revived,  and  embalmed  in  imperishable 
records.     So  much  has  been  accomphshed  in  that  direction, 

>^  and  the  whole  matter  is  now  in  such  able  hands,  and  in  the 

^    care  of  such  zealous  spirits,  that  the  futur«  renown  of  our 

^      metropolis  may  be  accounted  beyond  dp^Jger. 

It  still  appeared,  however,  to  the  sathor  of  the  following 
pages,  that  there  was  a  want  of  a  more  popular  history  of  our 
^  city  than  any  we  have  hitherto  possessed.  The  details  of 
the  city's  local  history  app<2ared  to  him  to  be  too  much  scat- 
tered and  mixed  with  more  general  historical  matter,  where, 
from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  they  are  only  briefly  and  inci- 
dentally stated.     As  the  result  of  this  state  of  things,  the 


682688 


6  PREFACE 

facts  of  the  city's  history,  as  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
state  or  nation,  are  very  imperfectly  known  to  ordinary  read- 
ers, even  in  the  city  itself.  To  bring  the  subject  within  the 
reach  of  all,  is  the  design  of  this  work. 

It  makes  no  pretensions  to  originaHty,  nor  yet  to  deep  and 
thorough  research.  These  were  considered  to  be  incom- 
patible with  the  writer's  design.  It  would  have  been  an 
easy  matter  to  have  swelled  the  work  to  ten  times  its  pres- 
ent volume;  but  in  so  doing  the  design  for  which  it  was 
written  would  have  been  defeated.  In  the  historical  portion 
the  purpose  has  been  to  collect  and  detail  the  principal  events 
of  the  local  history  of  the  city  down  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century, — omitting,  as  far  as  possible,  all  matters  of 
general  history  in  which  the  city  was  not  directly  and  indi- 
vidually concerned.  The  history  of  the  past  half-century  is 
purposely  made  very  brief  and  general.  The  events  of  this 
period  are  still  fresh  in  the  memories  of  the  present  genera- 
tion, and  the  whole  needs  the  mellowing  influence  of  time  to 
prepare  it  for  the  use  of  the  historian.  The  descriptive  por- 
tion was  found  much  more  difficult  than  the  historical.  In 
constructing  it  the  question  was  perpetually  recurring,  what 
shall  be  inserted,  and  what  omitted  ?  and  how  may  the  requi- 
site particularity  be  effected  without  sacrificing  the  not  less 
necessary  sprightliness  and  comprehensive  generality  ?  The 
author  has  in  this  matter  done  what  he  could,  and  probably 
he  is  as  little  iatisfied  with  what  he  has  been  able  to  do  as 
any  of  his  intelligent  readers  will  be.  No  doubt  many  will 
complain  because  ot  the  omission  of  important  matters ;  and 
quite  as  many,  and  often  the  same  persons,  will  wear)'  with 
the  rehearsal  of  (to  them)  uninteresting  details.  These  diffi- 
culties  are  believed  to  be  unavoidable,  and  the  writer  has 
hoped  for  nothing  more  than  to  reduce  them  to  their  mini- 
mum proportions.  As  to  how  far  he  has  succeeded,  the 
reader  will  judge. 

It  has  been  an  especial  design  to  present  the  work  entirely 


PREFACE.  7 

free  from  the  influence  of  favor  for  any  sects,  parties,  or  per- 
sons. The  stand-point  of  the  writer  is  that  of  an  American 
and  a  Christian ;  and  doubtless  what  he  has  written  will  suffi- 
ciently attest  that  his  position  has  had  some  influence  over 
his  writing.  He  would  be  very  sorry  to  be  compelled  to 
believe  that  such  is  not  the  case.  Further  than  this  he  has 
the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  a  New-Yorker, — "one  to  the 
manor  born ;"  and  he  does  not  hesitate  to  confess  that  he 
has  written  under  the  influence  of  that  instinct  of  human 
nature  by  virtue  of  which  every  man  sees  and  appreciates 
the  excellences  of  his  own  country,  city,  or  neighborhood. 
If  this  be  a  fault  in  a  writer,  it  is  no  discredit  to  a  man. 

The  writer  would  gladly  acknowledge  the  sources  from 
which  his  materials  have  been  drawn,  were  it  possible  for 
him  to  do  so.  But  these  are  so  various,  and  often  so  far 
from  being  original  in  the  places  whence  he  obtained  them, 
— and  not  unfrequently  the  same  matter  is  found  in  several 
independent  works, — that  the  thing  is  given  up  as  impossible. 
If  any  one  shall  suspect  that  Ms  productions  have  been  drawn 
upon,  the  probability  of  the  correctness  of  the  suspicion  will 
not  be  denied ;  but  it  will  be  well,  if  such  an  one  is  inclined 
to  complain,  for  him  first  to  make  himself  certain  that  the 
purloined  treasure  was  really  his  own,  and  that  the  proof  of 
the  theft  shall  not  involve  himself  in  the  same  offense,  by 
disclosing  an  earlier  authority,  fi'om  which  both  were  taken. 
The  chapter  on  Education  was  gathered,  principally,  in  de- 
tached pieces,  from  the  reports  of  the  Boards  of  Education  in 
the  city.  A  proper  and  satisfactory  exhibition  of  the  history 
of  the  schools  of  the  city  is  still  a  desideratum.  The  chap- 
ter on  "The  People  of  New- York"  appeared  originally  in  the 
Knickerbocker  Magazine  for  July,  1852,  and  of  its  excellences, 
however  inconsiderable,  the  author  claims  the  ownership, 
while  he  alone  is  responsible  for  its  faults  and  defects.  The 
final  chapter  on  the  "Future  of  New- York"  is  submitted  to 
the  reader,  to  be  estimated  by  him  as  it  shall  seem  to  de- 


8  PBEFACE. 

serve.  The  composition  of  it  afforded  a  little  amusement  to 
tlie  writer,  and  possibly  it  may  contribute  in  the  same  way 
to  the  pleasure  of  the  reader ;  and  if  so  it  will  not  fail  of  a 
valuable  result. 

As  to  the  form  and  method  of  the  work,  but  little  needs  to  be 
said.  The  style  of  composition  is  the  writer's  own  :  it  would 
have  been  better  had  he  been  capable  of  doing  better ;  as  it 
is,  it  must  go  forth,  with  all  its  imperfections  on  it.  In  the 
distribution  of  the  matter  into  chapters,  the  design  has  been 
to  divide  by  natural  joints,  rather  than  to  sever  into  so  many 
equal  portions.  It  is  hoped  that  this  part  of  the  work  will  be 
found  satisfactory.  The  distribution  into  sections  has  been 
made  with  the  hope  of  adding  to  the  sprightliness  of  the 
work,  or  at  least  of  breaking  the  dead  monotony  into  which 
it  was  feared  the  continuous  narrative  would  otherwise  faU. 
This  arrangement,  too,  it  is  anticipated,  will  be  favorably  re- 
ceived by  the  reader. 

The  work  is  now  submitted  to  the  public,  of  whose  candor 
the  wi'iter  has  had  many  occasions  to  think  favorably,  and 
to  whom  he  therefore,  without  trepidation,  commits  this  pro- 
duction, which  goes  forth  relying  solely  upon  its  own  inher- 
ent qualities  for  that  favorable  reception,  but  for  the  hope  of 
which  books  would  not  be  published.  Of  its  intrinsic  excel- 
lence it  does  not  become  him  to  speak  confidently — and  sus- 
pecting it  may  need  the  favor  of  its  critics,  he  hopes  by 
modesty  to  secure  whatever  he  fails  to  achieve  by  merit. 

THE  AUTHOR. 
New -York,  December,  1862. 


CONTENTS. 


I.— disco\t:ry  and  eaely  occupation. 

§  1.  A  strange  sight.— §  2.  Hudson  and  "the  Crescent."— §  3.  Explorations.— 
§  4.  Hudson's  an  original  discovery.— §  5.  Aspects.- §  6.  Inhabitants.- 
§  7.  Bay  and  environs.- §  8.  Lower  Bay  and  the  Narrows.— §  9.  New-York 
Harbor.— §  10.  East  River  and  Hurlgate.— §  11.  Harlem  River.— §  12.  Man- 
hattan Island.— §  13.  Productions.— §  14.  Homeward  voyage.— §  15.  Early 
occupation.— §  16.  A  trading-post.— §  17.  The  town,  as  it  was....  Pages  13-29 

n.— NEW-AMSTERDAil. 

§  18.  The  patroons.— §  19.  The  work  advances.—!  20.  Wouter  Van  Twiller.— 
§  21.  A  governor  in  trouble.—!  22.  William  Kieft.— §  23.  Swedes  on  the  Dela- 
ware.—§  24.  New  inducements.—!  25.  Population  increases.—!  26.  Further 
troubles.-!  27.  Indian  difficulties.-!  28.  A  war  and  a  peace.— §  29.  Another 
war.—!  30.  A  reinforcement— peace.— §  31.  Distress.-!  32.  Stuy^^esant  gov- 
ernor.—§  33.  State  of  the  province.—!  34.  Larger  liberties.—!  35.  Diplomacy. 
— !  36.  Religious  liberty.—!  37.  Slaves  imported.—!  38.  The  capture.— 
§  39.  A  new  name.—!  40.  The  town,  fort,  etc.—!  41.  Bowling-green.— 
§  42.  "  Straats  "  and  "  grafts."—!  43.  Population 30-49 

m.— NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PRO^TSTE. 

§  44.  "New  lords  make  new  laws."—!  45.  Boundaries— the  duke's  code.— 
§  46.  Lovelace  governor. — !  47.  New-Netherland  revived,  and  lost.—!  ^8.  An- 
dross  governor.—!  49.  State  of  the  province.—!  50.  Andross  is  arbitrary  and 
unpopular.—!  51.  Dongan  governor.—!  52.  New-York  a  royal  province.— 
!  53.  Livingston's  Manor.—!  54.  Dongan  superseded  by  Andross.—!  55.  A 
revolution— Leisler.-!  56.  Leisler  acts  as  governor.—!  57.  Is  superseded.— 
!  58.  An  affair  of  treason.— !  59.  Character  of  Leisler.—!  60.  Sloughter's  ad- 
ministration.—! 61.  Governor  Fletcher.—!  62.  Pirates— Kidd.—!  63.  Lord 
Bellemont.— §  64.  Bellemont  and  the  Leislerians 50-72 

lY.— INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN. 

!  65.  The  city  in  1677.—!  66.  Wards.—!  67.  Laws  and  ordinances.—!  68.  En. 
largement.— !  69.  Regulations  of  trade.—!  70.  The  flour  monopoly.—!  71.  Fur- 
ther extension.—!  72.  A  dangerous  rival.— §  73.  Progress  of  "  Breukelen."— 
!  74.  Sale  of  city  lots.—!  75.  Outside  localities.—!  76.  Defenses  of  the  city.— 
§  77.  Public  edifices.—!  78.  A  view  of  the  city.—!  79.  Character  of  the  people. 
— !  80.  Morals  and  religion.—!  81.  Another  account.—!  82.  A  remedy.- 

§  83.  Gov.  Fletcher's  efforts.—!  84.  Summary  view  of  society 73-90 

1* 


10  COiSTENTS. 

v.— CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS— 1700-1770. 

§  85.  The  city  in  1700. — §  86.  Composition  of  society. — §  87.  Combury's  admin- 
istration.—§  88.  Church  matters.— §  89.  An  epidemic— §  90.  King's  Farm 
given  to  Trinity  Church.— §  91.  Growth  of  the  city.— §  92.  New  streets,  etc.— 
§  93.  Newspapers.—!  94.  The  Negeo  Plot.— §  95.  How  the  panic  began. — 
§  96.  Its  progress.— §  97.  Its  plan.— §  98.  Proceedings  of  the  courts.— §  99. 
The  after-view.— §  100.  Proximate  causes. — §  101.  Primary  cause. — §  102.  Ed- 
ucational matters. — §  10.3.  Increasing  intelligence. — §  104.  Political  aflaii-s. — 
§  105.  Enlargement  of  the  city.— §  106.  Map  for  1729.— §  107.  Public  build- 
ings.—§  108.  Aspect  of  the  city.— §  109.  Map  for  1763.— §  110.  Commerce.— 
§  111.  Religious  Affaies — Presbyterians. — §  112.  Reformed  Dutch  Church. — 
§  113.  Methodists.— §  114.  Embury  and  Webb.— §  115.  First  Methodist 
church.— §  116.  Methodist  preachers  from  England Pages  91-120 

\^.— NEW-YORK  DURING  THE  "REVOLUTION. 

§  117.  First  movements.—!  118.  Early  resistance.— §  119.  The  Stamp-Act— 
§  120.  Sears  and  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty."— 121.  Organized  resistance.— §  122. 
Repeal  of  the  Stamp- Act. — §  123.  New  difficulties.— §  124.  Continued  growth 
of  the  city. — §  125.  A  tea-party,  etc. — §  126.  A  general  congress  called. — 
§  127.  First  provincial  congress.— §  128.  A  British  man-of-war.— §  129.  Com- 
mittee of  Safety.— §  130.  Plot  against  Washington.— §  131.  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence.—§  132.  Defenses  of  the  city.— §  133.  The  inhabitants  fly. — 
§  134.  Battle  of  Long  Island.— §  135.  Great  fire.- §  136.  American  prisoners.— 
§  137.  Provost-Martial  Cunningham.— §  138.  Crowded  prisons.—!  139.  The 
"Old  Sugar-House."—!  140.  Churches  turned  into  prisons.—!  141.  Prison- 
ships.—!  142.  Evacuation  by  the  British 121-143 

Vn.— NEW- YORK  AFTER  THE  WAR. 

§  143.  The  city  after  the  war.—!  144.  Aspects  of  the  town.—!  145.  Remnants  of 
the  town.—!  146.  Restoration  of  the  churches.—!  147.  Regulation  of  streets. 
— !  148.  A  supply  of  water.—!  149.  Sumptuaiy  ordinances.-!  150.  Benevo- 
lent associations.—!  151.  Financial  improvement.—!  152.  Population. — 
!  153.  Enlargement.-!  154.  The  city.—!  155.  The  prospective  federal  capi- 
tal.— !  156.  Continental  Congress  in  New-York.—!  157.  The  Doctors'  Mob. 
— !  158.  How  it  progressed.—!  159.  How  it  ended.—!  160.  A  federal  proces- 
sion.-! 161.  Preparation  for  the  federal  government.—!  162.  The  inaugura- 
tion.— §  163.  New-York  the  national  capital 144-166 

\^n.— CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS— 1790-1810. 

§  164.  Further  extension.—!  165.  Consolidation.—!  166.  Public  edifices— re- 
sources.-! 167.  Increase  of  commerce.—!  168.  New  churches.—!  169.  The 
New-York  pulpit.— §  170.  Yellow-fever.-!  171.  Causes  of  the  epidemic— 
§  172.  Beneficence.— §  173.  The  Manhattan  Company.—!  174.  Increase  of 
population.—!  175.  Enlargement.—!  176.  Greenwich  and  Bowery  villages.— 
§  177.  The  "Collect."—!  178.  Steam  navigation  on  the  "Collect."—!  179. 
Powder-house  knoll.—!  180.  A  proposed  park.—!  181.  An  inland  basin  pro- 
posed.—! 182.  The  "Collect"  destroyed.—!  183.  Great  fire  in  Front-street.— 
§  184.  Cold  winter  of  1804-5.— §  185.  City  Hall  projected.—!  186.  River  steam 
navigation.—!  187.  Further  enlargement  of  the  city.—!  188.  Increase  of 
population,  etc 167-188 


CUN'IENTS.  11 

IX.— NEW- YORK  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

§  189.  The  embargo.— §  190.  Defenses  projected.— §  191.  Fortifications.— §  192. 
Mayoralty  of  De  Witt  Clinton.— §  193.  Fire  in  Chatham-street.— §  194.  Wash- 
ington Market— §  195.  Plan  of  "up-town."— §  196.  War  with  Great  Britain.— 
§  197.  Privateering.— §  198.  Naval  heroes. — §  199.  E.xposed  condition  of  the 
city.— §  200.  Fortifications  erected.— §  201.  "Mustering  out."— §  202.  Com- 
mercial embarrassments.— §  £03.  Public  buildings.— §  204.  Improvements. — 
§  205.  Yellow-fever,  (1822.)— §  206.  Mayoralty  of  Stephen  Allen.— §  207.  In- 
crease of  the  city.— §  208.  Erie  Canal  opened.— §  209.  Cholera,  (1832  and 
1834.)— §  210.  Great  fire  of  December,  1835.— §  211.  Financial  crisis  of  1836-7. 
— §  212.  Completion  of  the  Croton  Aqueduct.— §  213.  Population  in  1850. 

Pages  189-207 

X.— NEW-YORK  AT  THE  PRESENT  TBIE. 

§  214.  The  transformation.— §  215.  Extent  of  the  city.— §  216.  Streets  and  ave- 
nues.—§  217.  Great  thoroughfares.- §  218.  Down-town.— §  219.  The  middle 
and  eastern  sections.— §  220.  Up-town.— §  221.  Civil  divisions.—!  222.  Pub- 
lic grounds— the  Battery.— §  223.  The  Bowling-green,  etc.— §  224.  The  Park, 
Hudson-square,  etc.— §  225.  Washington -square,  etc. — §  226.  Tompkins- 
Bquare,  etc. — §  227.  Squares  projected 208-220 

XI.— W^A.TER-WORKS— LIGHT. 

§  228.  Ante-revolutionary  projects.— §  229.  Post-revolutionary  projects.- §  230. 
The  Manhattan  Company.— §  231.  The  up-town  reservoir.— §  232.  The  Cro- 
ton project.— §  233.  Sources  of  Croton  River.— §  234.  Supply  and  character  of 
the  water.— §  235.  The  river  and  lake.— §  236.  The  dam.— §  237.  The  aque- 
duct.— §  238.  Its  structure  and  dimensions. — §  239.  Magnitude  of  the  work. — 
§  240.  Illumination — primitive  methods. — §  241.  Gas-light. — §  242.  Quality 
of  the  light 221-234 

Xn.— PUBLIC  BUILDINGS— CHURCHES— CHARITIES. 

§  243.  The  City  Hall.— §  244.  Hall  of  Records.— §  245.  The  Tombs.— §  246.  The 
Exchange.— §  247.  The  Custom-house.— §  2^8.  Odd  Fellows'  Hall.— §  249. 
The  Astor  Library.— §  250.  The  Arsenal.— §  251.  Trinity  Church.— §  252. 
Other  church  edifices.- §  253.  Charities  of  New- York.— §  254.  Alms-house 
department.— §  255.  New-York  Hospital.— §  256.  Asylum  for  the  Insane.— 
§  257.  New-York  Dispensary.— §  258.  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution.— §  259.  In- 
stitution for  the  Blind.— §  260.  Orphan  Asylum.— §  261.  Leake  and  Watts' 
Asylum.— §  262.  Colored  Orphan  Asylum.— §  263.  Other  charitable  institu- 
tions.—§  264.  Charitable  institutions  for  seamen.— §  265.  Religious  institu- 
tions for  seamen 235-255 

Xin.— EDUCATION. 

§  266.  Early  destitution.— §  267.  King's  (Columbia)  College.— §  268.  Primary 
education. — §269.  Educational  matters  after  the  Revolution. — §  270.  Free 
schools.— §  271.  The  "  Free-School  Society."— §  272.  Moral  and  religious  in- 
struction.—§  273.  The  Common-School  Fund.— §  274.  Increase  of  schools.— 
§  275.  Rival  schools.— §  276.  State  of  learning.— §  277.  Progress  of  the  cause. 
— §  278.  Opposition.— §  279.  Ward -schools.— §  280.  Corporate  schooLs.— §  281. 
The  Free  Academy— its  origin.— §  282.  Its  location,  etc.— §  283.  Its  course  of 


12 


CONTENTS. 


study.— §  284.  Columbia  College.— §  285.  University  of  the  city  of  New-York. 
— §  286.  Rutgers  Female  Institute. — §  287.  Medical  schools. — §  288.  Theo- 
logical schools.— §  289.  Private  schools.— §  290.  New-York  Society  Library.— 
§  291.  Mercantile  Library  Association.— §  292.  Mechanics'  Associations.— 
§  293.  Learned  and  scientific  societies.— §  294.  Conclusion ....  Pages  256-283 

XIV.— ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  295.  Suburbs  of  New-York— Brooklyn.— §  296-  Brooklyn,  continued.— §  297. 
Brooklyn,  continued — the  Navy-yard. — §  298.  The  Naval  Lyceum— Hospital. 
— §  299.  Brooklyn,  continued— churches.— §  300.  Williamsburgh.— §  301.  Vil- 
lages on  Manhattan  Island. — §  302.  West  shore  of  the  Hudson. — §  303.  Forti- 
fications about  New-York. — §  304.  Cemeteries. — §  305.  Greenwood — its  loca- 
tion and  extent. — §  306.  Greenwood — its  history  and  growth. — §  307.  Trinity 
Church  Cemetery.— §  308.  Other  rural  cemeteries 284r-299 

XV.— THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW- YORK. 

§  809.  Individuality  of  character.— §  310.  Original  elements.—!  311.  The  Wal- 
loons.— §  312.  Refugees  from  New-England. — §  313.  Swedes  and  Finns  from 
the  Delaware. — §  314.  Efiects  of  the  English  conquest. — §  315.  The  Hugue- 
nots.— §  316.  German  and  Irish  refugees. — §  317.  State  of  the  population  in 
1700. — §  318.  The  colored  population.— §  319.  Social  condition. — §  320.  Re- 
ligious liberty. — §  321.  Social  progress. — §  322.  The  New-York  character. — 
§  323.  Influence  of  commerce. — §  324.  State  of  learning. — §  325.  Distinctive 
characteristics. — §  326.  The  Y'ankee  and  the  Knickerbocker. — §  327.  The 
New-Yorker  and  the  Virginian.— §  328.  Assimilating  power 300-320 

XVI— THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  329.  Basis  of  estimate.— §  330.  Growth  for  the  past  century.— §  331.  Ratio  of 
increase.— §  332.  Ratio  for  the  future.— §  333.  Accidental  modifications.— 
§  334.  Ratio  of  the  city  to  the  State  and  nation.— §  335.  Growth  of  cities.— 
§  336.  Population  the  basis  of  estimate.— §  337.  Concentration  of  trade.— 
§  338.  Whence  can  the  people  be  gotten  ?— §  339.  Natural  advantages  of 
New- York.— §  340.  Inland  commerce.— §  341.  Relations  with  other  cities.— 
§  342.  New-York  as  a  place  of  residence.— §  343.  Advantages  of  its  ground- 
plot.— §  344.  Character  of  the  future  city.— §  345.  Conclusion 321-339 


MAPS    AND    ENGRAVINGS. 


CITY  HALL  (frontispiece) 2 

NEW-AMSTEEDAM 31 

DUTCH  COSTUMES 51 

PLAN  OP  THE  Clir  IN  1695 83 

PLAN  OP  THE  CITY  IN   1763 109 

XHE  "  BAIL-LOPT  " 114 


PAQK 
JOHN-STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH  ..  118 
NEW-TOEK  CRYSTAL  PALACE 220 

high  bridge 228 

new-york  orphan  asylum 249 

sailor's  home 254 

free  academy 273 


CITY    or    NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

DISCOVERY,  DESCRIPTION,  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION— 

1609-1630. 

^  1.  A  strange  sight  is  seen. 
On  the  3d  day  of  September,  in   the  year  1609,  a 
strange  and  unaccountable  phenomenon  was  witnessed 
by  the  wandering  savages  who  happened  to  be  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Sandy  Hook,  and  in  sight  of  the 
place  where  the  waters  of  the  Lower  Bay  unite  with 
the  ocean.     A  creature  of  a  size  and  proportions  that 
quite  surpassed  their  conceptions,  came  moving,  as  if 
self-impelled,  upon  the  face  of  the  water,  apparently 
descending  from  the  clouds,  or  coming  from  the  dim 
and  mysterious  regions  of  the  great  deep.     Passing 
through  the  entrance  that  leads   from  the  untamed 
wastes  of  the  wide  ocean  into  the  sleeping  or  sporting 
ripples  of  the  inland  bay,  the  wonderful  stranger  ad- 
vanced to  a  considerable  distance  onward,  and  then 
stopped  suddenly,  and  remained  unmoved.     The  won- 
dering savages  gazed  upon  the  unwonted  sight  with 
superstitious  awe.     The  strange  visitor,  thought  they, 
must  be  an  inhabitant  of  another  world,  or  of  the 
scarcely  less  mysterious  far-off  regions  beyond  the  seas, 
of  which  confused  and  uncertain  rumors  had  reached 


14  «;rn  uy  m-.w-yokk. 

them  ;  or,  perhaps,  the  Great  Spirit  himself  had  come 
in  this  manner  to  visit  his  children  in  the  wilderness, 
but  who  could  tell  whether  in  mercy  or  in  wrath  ? 

^  2.  Hendrick  Hudson  and  the  "  Crescent." 

The  vessel  that  then  entered  the  unknown  waters 
of  New -York  Bay  was  the  Crescent,  commanded  by 
Henry  Hudson,  who,  though  himself  an  Englishman, 
was  sailing  in  a  Dutch  vessel,  and  under  the  flag  of 
the  United  Provinces.  Three  years  before,  under  the 
flag  of  his  own  country,  he  had  coasted  the  western 
shores  of  Greenland,  and  pierced  the  Northern  Ocean 
to  within  eight  degrees  of  the  pole,  while  searching 
for  a  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Two  years  later,  the  attempt  to  reach  India  by  the 
northwest  passage  was  renewed,  and  again  failed  of  its 
purpose.  The  want  of  success  in  these  two  enter- 
prises disheartened  the  London  merchants  under 
whose  patronage  they  had  been  undertaken.  Not 
so,  however,  with  the  undaunted  navigator,  who,  like 
Columbus,  his  great  prototype,  when  his  own  country- 
men refused  to  sustain  him,  sought  the  assistance  of 
strangers,  and  was  employed  by  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company  to  prosecute  still  farther  his  favorite  work 
of  discovery.  He  set  sail  on  this  memorable  voyage 
on  the  4th  of  April ;  and  keeping  farther  southward 
than  before,  he  left  Newfoundland  to  the  right,  and 
running  down  the  southern  coast  of  Acadia,  (Nova 
Scotia,)  anchored  at  length  near  the  mouth  of  a  noble 
river,  since  known  as  the  Penobscot.  Thence  passing 
still  farther  to  the  south,  he  discovered  Cape  Cod,  of 
which  he  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  United 
Provinces,  and   gave  it  the  name  of   New-Holland. 


DISCOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  15 

But  finding,  as  lie  proceeded  yet  farther  to  the  south- 
west, that  he  was  approaching  the  settlements  of  his 
countrymen  in  Virginia,  he  turned  to  the  northwest 
to  explore  the  unknown  waters  lying  in  that  direction, 
hoping  to  find  some  opening  that  might  conduct  him 
to  the  vast  expanse  of  the  South  Sea.  It  was  thus 
that,  after  a  voyage  of  five  months,  Hudson  entered 
the  inland  waters  of  the  middle  region  of  the  North 
American  coast,  and  began  the  discoveries  that  have 
given  to  his  name  an  imperishable  renown. 

^  3.  He  explores  the  harbor  and  river. 

The  barbarous  inhabitants  of  the  shores,  though 
overawed  by  the  first  appearance  of  the  Crescent, 
soon  recovered  from  their  consternation,  and  after  a 
short  time  communications  opened  free  between  the 
vessel  and  the  shore.  A  week  was  spent  at  the  first 
anchorage,  after  which,'  passing  through  the  Nar- 
rows— the  strait  that  connects  the  lower  and  upper 
bays — on  the  11th  of  September,  1609,  Hudson,  the 
first  of  Europeans  to  explore  this  hitherto  sequestered 
region,  brought  his  sea-worn  craft  to  ride  quietly  upon 
the  broad  bosom  of  the  noble  river  that  now,  with 
manifest  propriety,  perpetuates  his  name.  Ten  days 
more  were  occupied  in  exploring  the  river.  Cautious- 
ly sounding  his  way,  the  intrepid  navigator  brought 
his  vessel  across  the  broad  waters  of  Tappan  Bay,  and 
through  the  narrow  passage  of  the  Highlands,  till, 
opposite  the  spot  now  crowned  with  a  city  bearing  his 
own  name,  he  came  to  shallows,  and  there  he  cast  his 
anchor.  Proceeding  still  farther  in  his  boats,  he  ex- 
amined the  river  and  its  banks  till  it  dwindled  to  a 
comparatively  insignificant  fresh-water  stream.     Then 


16  CITY   OF  NEW- YORK. 

turning  his  face  once  more  toward  the  ocean,  about 
a  month  after  he  had  first  entered  these  inland  waters, 
he  again  passed  outward  through  the  same  channel  by 
which  he  had  entered,  and  leaving  his  new  discoveries 
to  their  original  solitudes,  he  hastened  to  report  to 
his  employers  the  fruits  of  his  adventures. 

§  4.  Did  Hudson  first  discover  these  regions  ? 

The  question  has  been  raised  whether  indeed  Hud- 
son and  his  companions  were  the  first  EurojDeans  that 
ever  entered  the  waters  of  New -York  Bay.  Conjec- 
ture has  made  this  region  a  portion  of  the  mysterious 
Vinland,  so  famous  in  Scandinavian  story.  Fancy 
has  also  brought  the  wandering  Prince  Madoc  to  this 
coast,  and  within  these  quiet  waters.  It  has  been 
more  confidently  asserted  that  Verrazani,  nearly  a 
hundred  years  before  the  date  of  Hudson's  discovery, 
actually  entered  this  harbor,  and  spent  some  time  in 
its  examination,  though  the  proof  of  this  assertion  is 
far  from  being  satisfactory.  With  somewhat  greater 
probability,  it  is  declared  that  persons  in  the  employ 
of  the  Dutch  Greenland  Company  resorted  to  this 
place  about  the  year  1598,  to  find  a  shelter  for  them- 
selves during  the  winter  months  ;  but  of  this,  too,  the 
proof  is  wholly  unsatisfactory.  So  far  as  any  reliable 
evidence  is  concerned,  Hudson's  claim  to  priority  in 
the  discovery  of  the  harbor  of  the  commercial  metropo- 
lis of  the  New  World,  and  of  the  river  that  bears  his 
name,  is  still  unimpeached. 

^  5.  How  the  newly-discovered  region  appeared. 

The  newly-discovered  landscape  appears  to  liave 
impressed  the  minds  of  the  discoverers  with  the  most 


DISCOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  17 

lively   and   agreeable   emotions.      September   is,   in 
many  respects,  the  most  delightful  season  of  the  year 
in  this  part  of  the  world  ;  and  the  weather,  during  the 
stay  of  the  voyagers,  seems  to  have  been,  for  the  most 
part,  highly  favorable.     The  accounts  they  gave  of 
the  lands  they  had  discovered  were  at  once  true  to 
nature,  and  yet  almost  enchanting.     To  employ  the 
lanffua^e  of  a  chronicler  of  these  events:  "The  island 
of  Manhattan  spread  wide   before  them,  like  some 
sweet  vision  of  fancy,  or  some  fair  creation  of  indus- 
trious magic.    Its  hills  of  smiling  green  swelled  gently 
one  above  another,  crowned  with  lofty  trees  of  luxuri- 
ant growth,  some  pointing  their  tapering  foliage  to- 
ward the  clouds,  which  were  gloriously  transparent, 
and  others  loaded  with  a  verdant  burden  of  clamber- 
ing vines,  bowing  their  branches  to  the  earth,  that 
was  covered  with  flowers.     On  the  gentle  declivities 
of  the  hills  were  scattered  in  gay  profusion,  the  dog- 
wood, the  sumach,  and  the  wild  briar,  whose  scarlet 
berries  and  white  blossoms  glowed  brightly  among 
the  deep  green  of  the  surrounding  foliage  ;  and  here 
and  there  a  circling  column  of  smoke  rising  from  the 
little  glens  that  opened  along  the  shore,  seemed  to 
promise  the  weary  voyagers  a  welcome  at  the  hands 
of  their  fellow-creatures."     Another  writer,  in  sketch- 
ing the  history  of  this  discovery,  has  given  other  feat-- 
ures  of  the  scene  with  equal  truthfulness  and  felicity 
of  expression.     "  Eeptiles   sported   in   the   stagnant 
pools,  or  crawled  unharmed  over  piles  of  moldering 
trees.     The  spotted  deer  crouched  among  the  thickets, 
but  not  to  hide,  for  there  was  no  pursuer  ;  and  there 
were  nothing  but  wild  animals  to  crop  the  uncut 
herbage  of  the  productive  prairies.     Silence  reigned. 


18  CITY   OF   NEW-YORK. 

broken  it  may  have  been  by  the  flight  of  land-birds, 
or  the  flapping  of  water-fowl,  and  rendered  more  dis- 
mal by  the  howling  of  beasts  of  prey.  The  streams, 
not  yet  limited  to  channels,  spread  over  sand-bars 
tufted  with  copses  of  willows  ;  or  waded  through  wastes 
of  reeds  :  or  slowly,  but  surely,  undermined  the  groups 
of  sycamores  that  grew  by  their  side.  The  smaller 
brooks  spread  out  into  sedgy  swamps,  that  were  over- 
hung by  clouds  of  mosquitoes  ;  masses  of  decaying 
vegetation  fed  the  exhalations  with  the  seeds  of  pesti- 
lence, and  made  the  balmy  air  of  the  summer's  even- 
ing as  deadly  as  it  seemed  grateful.  Vegetable  life 
and  death  were  mingled  hideously  together.  The  hor- 
rors of  corruption  frowned  on  the  fruitless  fertility  of 
uncultivated  nature." 

^  6.  How  the  native  inhabitants  appeared. 

The  land  thus  discovered  was  not  altogether  an 
uninhabited  waste.  It  was  the  dwelling  place  of 
man ;  but  of  man  debased  to  the  same  state  of  un- 
cultivated wildness  that  marked  the  face  of  nature 
around  him.  Of  the  numerous  powerful  tribes  that 
once  possessed  the  regions  now  covered  by  the  cities 
and  villages,  the  fields  and  meadows  of  our  smiling 
country,  none  were  located  about  the  places  visited  by 
these  foreign  adventurers.  Scattered  and  enfeebled 
bands  of  the  great  family  of  the  Mohegans  were  found 
along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  ;  and  the  Manhattans, 
a  small  and  feeble  tribe,  had  their  few  "  smokes  "  on 
the  eastern  bank  near  the  river's  mouth.  These 
Indians  were  among  the  least  elevated,  in  social  posi- 
tion and  in  useful  knowledge,  of  all  the  families  of 
American  savages ;  nor  were  they  such  formidable 


DISCOVERY   AND   EARLY   OCCUPATION.  19 

warriors  as  were  sometimes  found  among  these  fierce 
children  of  nature.  In  harmony  with  the  rude  nature 
around  them,  thej  were  vagrants  and  wanderers  over 
the  face  of  the  country,  rather  than  lords  of  the  soil. 
Their  architecture  was  the  rudest  that  debased  human 
ingenuity  could  devise,  or  untaught  human  hands 
construct.  Their  food  consisted  of  ill-flavored  roots 
and  wild  fruits,  or  the  precarious  produce  of  the  chase. 
Their  religion  (if  indeed  they  can  be  classed  among 
religious  beings)  was  the  indistinct  prompting  of  an 
immortal  mind  shut  up  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance, 
and  impelled  by  the  untamed  passions  of  a  depraved 
heart.  In  character,  habits,  and  pursuits,  the  human 
tenants  of  these  wilds  were  but  one  remove  from 
their  irrational  associates  of  the  wilderness. 

^  7.   General  aspect  of  the  hay  and  environs. 

Before  proceeding  to  notice  the  affairs  of  the  Euro- 
peans, as  they  subsequently  occurred  in  the  region 
whose  discovery  has  now  been  detailed,  it  may  be 
agreeable  to  the  reader  to  have  a  more  definite  ac- 
count of  the  local  configuration  of  the  newly-discovered 
country.  Few  spots  of  earth  unite  more  of  the  ele- 
ments of  beauty  than  may  be  seen  in  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  harbor  of  New -York  and  environs.  The 
eyes  of  the  original  discoverers  saw  this  scene  in  all 
its  beauty,  when,  in  the  soft  light  and  transparent 
atmosphere  of  earjy  autumn,  they  first  looked  out 
upon  it.  After  gazing  upon  this  landscape  under 
like  circumstances,  one  may  readily  sympathize  with 
the  spirit  of  their  glowing  descriptions,  and  would 
esteem  such  gorgeous  language  as  indicative  of  a  just 
sensibility  rather  than  of  an  exuberant  fancy.     Since 


20  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

that  time,  art  may  have  added  something  to  its  re- 
finement ;  but  in  its  original  solitude  there  was  also 
an  awful  sublimity  mingling  with  and  rising  above  the 
sweetness  of  this  verdant  scene,  that  is  now  wantins^. 

§  8.   The  Lower  Bay  and  Narrows, 

The  entrance  to  these  quiet  waters  lies  through  a 
broad  passage  of  more  than  four  fathoms  depth  at  low- 
tide,  with  the  drifting  sands  of  Coney  Island  on  the 
east,  and  a  long  sand-bar  projecting  far  out  from  the 
main-land  (now  called  Sandy  Hook)  on  the  west.  Im- 
mediately within  the  bar  the  waters  spread  out  far  to 
the  west,  forming  a  capacious  inland  bay,  and  in- 
sinuating far  into  the  country.  The  ground  in  front, 
though  apparently  a  portion  of  the  continent,  is,  in 
fact,  an  island,  being  separated  from  the  main-land  by 
a  narrow  belt  of  water — the  well  known  Staten  Island. 
On  the  east  of  this  is  a  long  channel  separating  it 
from  Long  Island,  and  uniting  the  Lower  Bay  with 
the  harbor,  or  Upper  Bay.  This  channel  is  called  the 
Narrows,  and  is  the  only  and  sufiicient  medium  of 
communication  in  this  direction  with  the  ocean  from 
New-York  Bay.  Along  its  eastern  border  runs  the 
shore  of  Long  Island,  at  the  south  a  low  sandy  beach, 
but  farther  north  a  beautiful  and  fertile  tract  ele- 
vated more  than  a  hundred  feet  from  the  water. 

§  9.  New -York  Harhor. 

As  seen  by  one  approaching  it  from  the  Narrows, 
the  Bay  of  New -York  presents  one  of  the  finest  land 
and  water  views  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  A  beauti- 
ful sheet  of  water  expands  on  every  side,  with  its  jut- 
ting shores  and  frowning  headlands  in  the  dim  dis- 


DISCOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  21 

tance — yet  not  so  remote  but  that  their  waving  out- 
lines may  be  readily  traced.     On  the  left  the  upper 
side  of  Staten  Island  stretches  away  to  the  west,  form- 
ing the  base  of  the  picture,  wjiile  in  front,  slightly  to 
the  left,  rise  the  blue  shores  of  New-Jersey,  with  the 
hills  of  Hoboken  in  the  distance.     Directly  to  the  west- 
ward, the  waters  open  a  passage  into  a  deep  inland  bay, 
now  known  as  Newark  Bay,  which  is  separated  from 
the  Bay  of  New -York  by  a  low  and  broad  peninsula, 
called  Elizabethtown  Point.     Two  small  islands  (Bed- 
low's  and  Ellis's)  are  seen  in  this  direction — green 
specks,  rising  out  of  the  water,  and  giving  increased 
beauty  to  the  fair  scenery.     Immediately  in  front  the 
noble  Hudson  spreads  out  its  broad  surface,  extending 
far  into  the  interior — itself  an  arm  of  the  sea,  capa- 
ble of  bearing  the  united  navies  of  the  world.     On 
the  right,  after  passing  Long  Island,  which  here  rises 
in  a  precipitous  headland,  is,  first.  Governor's  Island, 
a  verdant  spot  of  earth  covering  a  continuation  of  the 
long  ledge  of  rocks  that  underlies  Manhattan  Island. 
This  island  is  less  than  a  mile  in  circuit,  and  but  a 
few  feet  above  the  level  of  high-water  ;  and,  lying  at 
the  mouth  of  the  channel  that  here  enters  from  the 
east,  divides  it  into  two  parts.     A  little  farther  on- 
ward rises  the  rocky  projection  of  Manhattan  Island, 
once  the  desolate  region  already  described,  but  now 
the  seat  of  commerce  and  the  dwelling-place  of  the 
multitudes  that  make  up  the  Empire  City  of  America. 

^  10.   The  East  River  and  Hurlgate. 

The  channel  that  opens  to  the  right — a  deep  and 
broad  strait  called  the  East  Kiver,  and  separating 
Long  Island  and  Manhattan  Island — leads  from  the 


22  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

Bay  of  New-York  into  another  smaller  bay,  (Walla- 
bout,)  and  still  farther  onward  it  winds  northward 
through  a  cluster  of  rocky  islands — four  of  the  largest 
of  which  are  called,  af  ter^early  proprietors,  BlackwelFs, 
Randall's,  Ward's,  and  Berrian's — to  the  celebrated 
eddy  and  whirlpool  called  by  the  Dutch  settlers 
Helder-gaat,  or  Helle-gaat,  meaning  the  bright  passage^ 
which  the  English  corrupted  into  Hellgate,  a  name 
more  recently  softened  into  Hurlgate.  This  renowned 
pass,  the  terror  of  early  navigators,  and  the  scene  of 
many  a  thrilling  legend,  demands  a  more  circum- 
stantial description  than  most  other  localities  here 
enumerated. 

It  must  be  noticed  that  the  East  River  connects  two 
arms  of  the  sea,  which  communicate  w^ith  the  ocean 
at  points  separated  by  nearly  two  degrees  of  longitude. 
Of  course  the  tide  enters  by  the  eastern  way  consider- 
ably earlier  than  by  the  other,  and,  consequently,  the 
water  is  forced  rapidly  through  the  narrower  parts  of 
the  strait.  At  the  point  in  question  an  irregular  pile 
of  rocks — a  ledge  with  immense  holders  lying  con- 
fusedly upon  it — extends  quite  across  the  channel, 
through  and  over  which  the  water  is  forced  with  great 
violence.  These  rocks  form  a  partial  dam,  so  that 
the  passage  of  the  tide  is  somewhat  obstructed,  and 
the  water  on  the  side  of  the  flood  elevated  above  the 
level  of  the  other  side,  and,  of  course,  rapids  and  eddies 
are  formed  in  various  places.  The  overlying  rocks 
sometimes  form  subaqueous  channels,  through  which 
the  water  is  forced  by  the  pressure  of  the  tide,  and 
rising  from  which  the  current  spreads  over  the  surface, 
giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  boiling  caldron.  These 
agitations  occur  only  when  the  tide  is  rising  or  fall- 


DISCOVEEY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  23 

ing ;  at  slack-water,  whether  flood  or  ebb,  both  sides 
being  at  the  same  level,  all  is  quiet.  The  interrup- 
tion to  navigation  caused  by  this  obstruction  is  less 
serious  than  might  be  apprehended.  The  channels 
between  the  higher  crags  of  the  rocks  are  large 
enough  to  give  ample  space  for  the  safe  passage  of 
all  kinds  of  inland  water  craft ;  and  experienced  navi- 
gators are  accustomed  to  pass  and  repass  "  the  gate" 
without  loss  or  apprehension  of  danger. 

§  11.  Harlem  River. 

To  the  west  of  Hurlgate,  a  deep  bay,  full  of  low 
reedy  islands,  indents  the  shore,  and,  narrowing  to  a 
diminutive  channel,  reaches  quite  over  to  the  Hudson, 
and  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  Manhattan  Island. 
This  at  the  south-eastern  end  is  called  Harlem  Eiver; 
but  at  its  junction  with  the  Hudson,  where  it  is  a  di- 
minutive water-course,  it  is  called  Spuytendevil  Creek. 
The  direction  of  this  channel,  from  river  to  river,  is 
nearly  north  and  south,  cutting  the  narrow  belt  of 
land  transversely,  and  making  a  distance  of  four  times 
its  width. 

§  12.  Manhattan  Island — geologically  and  topographically. 

Manhattan  Island  is  a  narrow  tongue  of  land  lying 
between  the  Hudson  Eiver  on  the  west,  and  on  the 
east  that  part  of  Long  Island  Sound  commonly  known 
as  the  East  Eiver.  The  same  body  of  water  forms  its 
southern  boundary,  while  Harlem  Eiver  lies  on  the 
north.  Its  greatest  length,  along  the  Hudson  Eiver, 
is  a  little  more  than  thirteen  miles :  its  breadth  varies 
from  one  to  two  and  one-third  miles.  Its  aggregate 
area  amounts  to  about  fourteen  thousand  acres.     The 


24  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

entire  island  is  underlaid  by  a   ledge  of  stratified 
granitic  rock,  extending  from  north  to  south,  and 
rising  in  some  places  to  the  height  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred feet,  and  in  others  sinking  to  a  considerable 
depth  below  the  surface.     The  geological  character  of 
the  island  determines  at  once  its  figure  and  its  sur- 
face, both  of  which  are  rough  and  irregular.    Sudden 
acclivities  and  projecting  crags  were  originally  inter- 
mingled with  ponds  and  marshes.     In  some  parts  the 
tide  penetrated  nearly  to  the  middle  of  the  island ;  and 
in  others  wxre  fresh-water  ponds,  elevated  considerably 
above  tide-water.     Toward  the  southern  part  of  the 
island  was  a  large  extent  of  diluvial  earth  overlying 
the  sunken  rock,  that  came  to  the  surface  again  at  the 
southern  point,  and  there  only  about  at  the  level  of 
the  water.     This  tract  extended  nearly  a  mile  up  the 
Hudson,  and  more  than  half  a  mile  along  the  East 
Eiver.     Beyond  this,  and  about  midway  between  the 
two  rivers,  was  a  pond  of  fresh  water,  which  was  dis- 
charged by  a  brook  running  south-eastwardly  to  the 
East  Eiver,  through  a  vast  swamp,  or  estuary — the 
tract  now  reaching  from  Pearl-street  on  the  west  to 
Catharine-street  on  the  east,  and  extending  up  nearly 
to  Chatham-street.     To  the  west  of  this  swamp  was 
another  of  less  extent,  separated  from  the  former  by 
a  ridge,  upon  which  Pearl-street  runs.     This  was  long- 
known  as  Beekman's  swamp,  and  the  portion  of  the 
city  erected  upon  the  spot  is  still  called  "the  Swamp." 
To  the  west  of  the  Fresh  Pond  was  a  valley  of  wet  land 
reachina*  down  to  the  Hudson,  and  ending  in  a  marsh, 
a  region  now  traversed  by  Canal-street.     Beyond  this 
belt  of  fresh  water  and  marshes,  that  almost  insulated 
the  part  below  them,  there  lay  to  the  north-eastward 


DISCOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  25 

a  fine  tract  of  arable  land  and  extensive  meadows,  the 
south-eastern  angle  of  which  was  known  for  many 
years  as  Corlaer's  Hook,  so  called  after  an  early  pro- 
prietor. The  upland  portions  of  this  side  of  Manhat- 
tan Island  were  early  appropriated  by  the  Dutch  col- 
onists for  farms,  or  "  boweries,"  from  which  circum- 
stance the  neighborhood  came  to  be  called  "  the  bow- 
eries " — a  name  still  borne  by  a  principal  avenue  of 
this  part  of  the  city,  and  perhaps  destined  to  live  while 
New -York  shall  continue  to  be  a  city.  Farther  up, 
on  the  eastern  side,  the  land  was  more  broken  and 
rocky,  swelling  into  eminences,  with  intervening 
swamps  and  morasses. 

The  west  side  of  the  island  was  less  varied  in  its 
natural  features  than  the  other.  The  shore  presented 
an  almost  straight  line  from  end  to  end.  The  region 
extending  northward  from  the  Fresh  Pond  along  the 
Hudson  consisted  of  irregular  hills  and  valleys,  gener- 
ally without  fast  rocks,  although  full  (3f  large  and 
small  loose  stones  and  rocks,  with  springs  of  pure  wa- 
ter, and  with  rivulets  and  marshes.  '  The  shore  of  the 
Hudson  for  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles  was  low, 
and  intersected  by  bays  and  estuaries ;  farther  up  it 
rises  in  high  rocky  hills  of  a  most  rugged  and  forbid- 
ding aspect.  The  whole  of  the  upper  part  of  Manhat- 
tan Island,  embracing  more  than  half  of  its  entire 
area,  was  always  ill  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes, 
and  to  the  present  time  some  portions  have  never  been 
subdued  by  the  skill  of  the  cultivator.  A  more  for- 
bidding spot  of  earth  on  which  to  erect  a  great  city 
has  seldom  been  seen  than  was  presented  in  the  origi- 
nal ground-plan  of  the  city  of  New- York;  and  in  rear- 
ing a  city  on  such  a  foundation  the  builders  have  com- 

2 


26  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

bined  the  arts  of  tlie  stone-cutters  of  ancient  Petraea 
and  the  amphibious  labors  of  the  founders  of  Venice 
and  St.  Petersburgh. 

§  13.  Productions — vegetable  and  animal. 

As  seen  by  the  early  navigators,  this  rugged  frag- 
ment of  creation  was  clothed  in  its  primeval  forests. 
Upon  its  knolls  and  hilltops  grew  the  hickory,  the 
chesnut,  the  white  and  yellow  oaks,  and  the  white  ash, 
with  underwoods  of  sumach,  dogwood  and  hazel.  Along 
the  hillsides  and  by  the  water's  edge  were  the  beach, 
the  sycamore,  and  the  stately  whitewood ;  and  in  the 
swamps,  the  elm,  the  white  maple,  the  gum,  and  the 
black  ash,  with  a  countless  undergrowth  of  shrubs 
and  brambles,  and  clambering  vines. 

Its  animal  productions  were  those  common  to  this 
part  of  the  world.  The  sluggish  bear  straggled 
through  these  forests,  while  droves  of  gaunt  wolves 
howled  from*  the'  hilltops,  and  occasionally  the  shrill 
scream  of  the  panther  awoke  the  echoes  along  the 
valleys,  and  herds  of  timid  deer  cropped  the  green 
herbage  in  quiet  security,  or  fled  in  dismay  at  the 
approach  of  their  voracious  enemies.  The  feathered 
tribes  too  were  there  in  great  abundance.  Among  the 
upland  trees  were  heard  the  notes  of  the  robin  and 
blackbird,  mingled  with  the  screams  of  the  garrulous 
bluejay,  and  the  cooing  of  the  wood-pigeons,  that  swept 
over  the  forests  in  innumerable  companies.  In  the 
thickets  were  the  thrush,  the  catbird,  and  the  sparrow ; 
and  along  the  water's  edge  were  found  vast  numbers 
of  geese,  ducks,  and  snipes.  Along  the  streams  and 
at  the  water-sides  were  colonies  of  beavers,  or  more 
solitary  otters,  muskrats,  and  minks ;  .the  forests  were 


DISCOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  27 

animated  with  vast  numbers  of  squirrels,  wliile  in  the 
deep  waters  were  porpoises,  tortoises,  and  sharks. 

§  14.  The  homeward  voyage. 

The  homeward  voyage  of  the  Crescent  was  pros- 
perous, and  in  due  time  the  gallant  ship  entered  Dart- 
mouth harbor  in  safety.  Hudson  immediately  for- 
warded to  his  patrons  a  glowing  account  of  his  dis- 
coveries ;  and  as  they  had  been  made  by  a  party  sail- 
ing under  the  flag  of  the  Provinces,  the  rights  of 
proprietorship  belonged  to  that  country.  Thus,  from 
the  earliest  period,  was  the  country  on  both  sides  of 
the  Hudson  Eiver  conceded  to  the  Dutch,  by  right  of 
original  discovery. 

§  15.  Early  occupation. 

The  new  proprietors  did  not  permit  the  discovery 
made  in  their  behalf  to  be  a  barren  one :  the  posses- 
sion was  soon  occupied  and  turned  to  advantage.  The 
very  next  year — while  Hudson,  again  employed  by 
his  own  countrymen,  was  prosecuting  that  glorious 
but  fatal  voyage  that  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  an 
immense  inland  sea  in  the  northern  portion  of  our 
continent,  which  is  at  once  his  grave  and  his  monu- 
ment— some  merchants  of  Amsterdam  fitted  out  a 
vessel  with  an  assorted  cargo,  designed  for  traffic  with 
the  natives  on  Hudson's  Eiver.  The  adventure  proved 
successful,  and  was  annually  renewed  for  several  suc- 
ceeding years.  In  1613,  Sir  John  Argall,  with  a 
semi-piratical  squadron  under  English  colors,  entered 
the  harbor  at  the  mouth  of  Hudson's  Eiver,  where  he 
found  a  few  rude  dwellings  on  the  southern  extremity 
of  Manhattan  Island,  which  served  as  the  summer 


28  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

quarters  for  a  small  company  of  Dutch  traders,  who 
were  prosecuting  their  gainful  purposes  in  this  un- 
frequented region.  Thej  acknowledged  allegiance  to 
Holland,  and  claimed  the  protection  of  the  flag  of 
their  own  country.  They,  however,  consented  to  hoist 
the  English  flag  when  commanded  to  do  so  hy  the 
British  cruiser ;  hut  they  pulled  it  down  again  as  soon 
as  he  had  gone.  In  1614,  seven  ships  were  sent  to 
America  hy  a  joint-stock  company  of  merchants  re- 
siding in  Amsterdam,  under  the  command  of  Adrian 
Block  and  Hendrick  Christianse ;  and  a  rude  fort 
was  erected  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the  island.  The 
next  year  a  fort  was  established  at  the  head  of  navi- 
gation on  the  Hudson,  near  to  the  present  site  of  the 
city  of  Albany. 

§  16.  "^  trading-post  on  HudsorCs  River." 

In  these  early  enterprises  of  the  merchants  of  Am- 
sterdam, trade  rather  than  colonization  seems  to  have 
been  the  governing  purpose.  Tor  several  years  no 
colony  was  attempted,  and  the  trade  of  the  whole 
region  was  an  individual  enterprise  of  those  who  chose 
to  engage  in  it.  But,  in  1621,  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company  was  incorporated,  with  a  monopoly  of  the 
trade  of  all  the  Dutch  foreign  possessions  on  both 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  having  authority  to 
govern  any  unoccupied  territories  that  they  might 
choose  to  appropriate.  The  immense  regions  thus 
given  up  to  this  new  corporation  were  distributed 
among  branches  of  the  company  located  in  the 
principal  cities  of  Holland,  and  the  country  on  the 
Hudson  became  the  portion  of  the  branch  located  at 
Amsterdam.     Presently  rude  cottages  began  to  clus- 


DISCiOVERY  AND  EARLY  OCCUPATION.  •       29 

ter  about  the  block-liouse  on  Manhattan  Island,  and 
the  incipient  metropolis  assumed  the  title  of  New- 
Amsterdam,  while  the  whole  territory  of  Hudson's 
Eiver  was  called  New-Netherland.  A  governmejit 
was  soon  afterward  established,  and  for  nine  years 
from  1624  Peter  Minuets  filled  the  important  post  of 
director  of  the  infant  colony.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  the  whole  island  of  Manhattan  was  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians,  for  a  sum  about  equal  to 
twenty-four  dollars. 

§  17.   The  town,  as  it  was. 

"  These,"  says  an  eloquent  historian  of  our  colonial 
affairs,  "  were  the  rude  beginnings  of  New -York.  Its 
first  age  was  the  age  of  hunters  and  Indian  traders ; 
of  traflSc  in  the  skins  of  otters  and  beavers ;  when  the 
native  tribes  were  employed  in  the  pursuit  of  game, 
and  the  yacht  of  the  Dutch,  in  quest  of  furs,  pene- 
trated every  bay,  and  bosom,  and  inlet,  from  Narra- 
ganset  to  the  Delaware.  It  was  the  day  of  straw  roofs, 
wooden  chimneys,  and  wind-mills." 


30  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTEE  11. 

NE  W-AM  ST  ERD  AM.  — 1630-16  64. 

§  18.    The  patroons. 

For  the  first  twenty  years  after  their  discovery,  the 
Dutch  possessions  on  the  Hudson  had  much  more  the 
character  of  a  trading-post  than  that  of  a  colony. 
Holland  was  at  that  time  becoming  a  nation  of  mer- 
chants, and  such  was  the  growth  of  trade  at  New- 
Amsterdam  that  in  1632  the  exports  amounted  to 
the  very  considerable  sum  of  fifty-seven  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  1629  a  grand  scheme  for  colonizing  the 
Dutch  territories  in  America  was  formed  in  Holland. 
Liberty  was  given  to  the  members  of  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company  to  plant  colonies  in  New-Netherland 
on  certain  easy  conditions.  It  was  decreed,  that  who- 
ever should,  within  four  years  after  giving  notice  of 
his  purpose  to  do  so,  form  a  settlement  of  not  less  than 
fifty  persons  of  fifteen  years  old  and  over,  should  be 
entitled  to  occupy  and  possess  a  tract  of  land  sixteen 
miles  in  extent,  along  the  sea-shore,  or  the  bank  of 
any  navigable  river,  (or  eight  miles  when  both  banks 
were  occupied,)  with  an  indefinite  extent  inland.  The 
persons  who  formed  colonies  under  this  provision  were 
called  patroons,  and  were  intrusted  with  large  powers 
within  their  several  manors,  both  as  proprietors  and 
as  civil  magistrates. 

§  19.    The  work  advances. 

Under  this  system  of  colonization  the  lands  about 
the  bay,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson,  were  speedily 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  33 

taken  up  by  the  more  enterprising  members  of  tlie 
Dutch  West  India  Company.  The  island  of  Manhat- 
tan, however,  was  wisely  reserved  for  the  use  of  the 
company.  The  patroons,  in  order  to  secure  the  lands 
they  had  appropriated,  made  great  efforts  to  obtain 
the  requisite  number  of  colonists.  Some  were  ob- 
tained by  emigrations  from  Holland,  and  some  from 
the  English  colonies.  To  forward  this  purpose,  liberal 
conditions  were  offered  by  the  patroons ;  and,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  the  home-government,  the  colonial 
authorities  granted  a  full  toleration  to  all  Christian 
sects. 

§  20.   Wouter  Van  Twiller,  Governor. 

In  the  year  1633  the  little  colony  of  New-Nether- 
land  received  a  governor  from  the  fatherland  in  the 
person  of  Wouter  (or  Walter)  Van  Twiller,  and  the 
scattered  settlements  and  trading-posts  on  the  Hudson 
were  erected  into  a  province  of  the  United  Netherlands. 
The  new  governor  brought  over  with  him  a  company 
of  a  hundred  and  four  soldiers,  a  school-master,  and  a 
minister.  But  as  the  trade  with  the  Indians  was  the 
all-engrossing  matter  of  interest,  but  little  was  done 
toward  introducing  permanent  settlers  into  the  prov- 
ince. The  governor,  however,  applied  himself  vigor- 
ously to  his  public  duties,  and  several  improvements 
were  undertaken.  Tlie  fort  was  rebuilt,  with  barracks 
for  the  soldiers ;  a  church  and  parsonage  were  erected, 
and  also  a  house  for  the  governor ;  and  mills  and  other 
buildings  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  settlement. 
The  island  of  Manhattan  was  divided  into  farms, 
called  "  boweries,"  and  on  the  one  nearest  to  the  fort, 
(that  is,  from  Wall-street  to  the  Park,)  the  governor 

2* 


34  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

had  a  dwelling,  barn,  brewery,  and  boat-house  built. 
Buildings  were  also  erected  on  some  of  the  other 
"  boweries  "  of  the  company. 

^21.   The  governor  in  trouble — is  recalled. 

During  the  whole  term  of  Van  Twiller's  adminis- 
tration the  little  colony  was  in  a  state  of  disquiet  or 
alarm.  On  the  east  the  English  were  steadily  en- 
croaching on  the  territory  of  the  company,  and  on  the 
Delaware  the  Indians  were  carrying  on  a  destructive 
war  against  the  feeble  settlements  on  that  river. 
Nor  were  the  internal  affairs  of  the  government  less 
troublesome.  Between  the  government  and  the  pa- 
troons  continual  disputes  were  kept  up,  as  to  their 
respective  rights,  and  especially  as  to  the  privilege  of 
trading  with  the  Indians,  of  which  both  parties  claim- 
ed a  monopoly.  At  the  same  time  the  governor  was 
not  altogether  forgetful  of  his  private  interests.  In 
company  with  several  others  he  purchased  of  the 
Indians  a  fertile  tract  of  land  on  Nassau  or  Long- 
Island,  (at  Vlatlands,)  upon  which  the  new  proprietors 
proceeded  to  establish  farms.  He  also  purchased  for 
his  own  use  the  little  island  just  south  of  the  fort, 
originally  called  Nutten  Island,  from  the  great  number 
of  nut-trees  found  on  it ;  but,  from  its  being  the  prop- 
erty of  Governor  Van  Twiller,  it  has  since  been  known 
as  Governor's  Island.  But  the  discontents  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  colony  at  length  came  to  the  notice  of 
the  company,  and,  from  the  character  of  the  com- 
plaints, it  was  deemed  best  to  recall  the  governor, 
which  accordingly  was  done,  after  an  administration 
of  four  years. 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  35 

§  22.    William  Kieft,  Governor. 

Tlie  new  governor,  William  Kieft,  did  not  arrive  in 
the  colony  till  March,  1638.  He  then  found  the 
company's  affairs  much  neglected,  and  the  public 
property  in  a  ruinous  condition, — the  building  going 
to  decay, — the  boweries  or  farms  untenanted  and  strip- 
ped of  their  stock,  and  the  purchase  of  furs,  which 
constituted  the  principal  object  of  interest  in  the 
colony,  engrossed  by 'private  traders,  and  conducted  in 
a  most  profligate  manner.  The  new  governor  en- 
deavored by  orders  and  proclamations  to  remedy 
these  evils,  but  with  only  partial  success.  A  few  ad- 
ditional settlers  were  also  brought  into  the  province 
about  this  time,  and  some  further  purchases  of  land 
from  the  Indians  were  made ;  but  the  growth  of  the 
settlements  was  as  yet  inconsiderable. 

^  23.   The  Swedes  on  the  Delaware. 

About  this  time  Peter  Minuets,  formerly  director 
of  New-Amsterdam,  with  a  company  of  Swedes,  under 
the  patronage  of  Queen  Christina,  daughter  of  the 
great  Gustavus  Adolphus,  entered  the  Delaware,  and 
purchased  of  the  Indians  a  tract  of  land  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  bay,  and  built  Fort  Christina.  Kieft 
was  greatly  dissatisfied  with  this  intrusion  upon  ter- 
ritory claimed  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
and,  by  repeated  and  violent  protests,  to  which  Minuets 
paid  no  attention,  forbade  the  intended  settlement. 
But  the  Dutch  governor  deemed  it  unsafe  to  attempt 
to  dislodge  the  intruders  by  force,  and  the  power  of 
Sweden  in  the  affairs  of  Europe  was  such  as  to  forbid 
the  home-government  interfering  in  the  matter.     So 


36  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

the  little  Swedish  colony  was  left  to  pursue  its  course 
in  peace. 

^  24.  New  inducements  to  settlers. 

The  little  progress  made  by  the  colony,  at  length 
induced  the  directors  of  the  West  India  Company  to 
mitigate  some  of  the  rigors  of  their  policy.  The 
monopoly  of  the  trade  to  the  colony  was  so  far  modi- 
fied as  to  permit  any  who  might  choose  to  do  so  to 
engage  in  it ;  though  only  the  company's  ships  could 
be  used  for  transportation.  A  free  passage  was  given 
to  all  who  wished  to  remove  from  Holland  to  the 
colony ;  and  emigrants  were  offered  lands,  houses, 
cattle,  and  farming  tools,  at  an  annual  rent,  and 
clothes  and  provisions  on  credit.  The  authority  of 
the  patroons  was  defined  and  somewhat  diminished. 
To  every  person  who  should  bring  six  persons  into  the 
colony,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  were  to  be  given ; 
and  the  towns  and  villages  were  to  have  magistrates 
of  their  own.  Other  provisions  of  a  similar  character 
were  made,  regulating  the  trade  with  the  Indians, 
and  also  providing  for  the  religious  and  educational 
wants  of  the  people. 

^  25.  Population  increases. 

Under  the  new  arrangements  a  number  of  emi- 
grants were  drawn  from  Holland,  some  of  them  men 
of  considerable  property.  Some  English  indented 
servants,  who  had  served  out  their  time  in  Virginia, 
settled  also  in  New-Netherland  ;  and  some  Anabap- 
tists and  others,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  New- 
England  by  religious  intolerance,  sought  here  a  place 
of  safety.     The  settlements  were  now  rapidly  extend- 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  37 

ed  in  every  direction  around  New-Amsterdam.  On 
Long  Island,  in  addition  -to  the  settlements  at  Walla- 
bout  and  Flatlands,  another  was  commenced  (1639) 
at  Breukelen  [Brooklyn].  Staten  Island,  and  the  re- 
gion to  the  west  of  Newark  Bay  were  both  granted 
to  patroons,  and  settlements  commenced  upon  them. 
New- Amsterdam  shared  only  indirectly  in  these  im- 
provements, but  its  progress,  was  slow,  though  steadily 
onward.  "  A  fine  stone  tavern,'^  says  an  old  chronicler, 
was  built,  and  the  "mean  old  barn'^  that  had  served 
for  a  church,  was  replaced  by  a  new  stone  building, 
erected  within  the  inclosure  of  the  fort,  and  paid  for 
partly  by  the  company,  and  partly  by  subscription. 

§  26.  Further  troubles  hy  other  colonies. 

The  foreign  relations  of  New-Netherland  became 
by  degrees  more  and  more  complicated  and  embar- 
rassing. The  encroachments  from  the  New-England 
colonies  were  becoming  truly  alarming ;  and,  on  the 
south,  the  Swedes  were  firmly  seated  in  their  position, 
and  threatened  to  exclude  the  Dutch  entirely  from 
their  possessions  on  the  Delaware.  The  growing  im- 
portance of  the  colony  of  Eensselaerwick,  at  the  north, 
which  began  to  assume  a  kind  of  independence,  be- 
came a  further  cause  of  uneasiness.  These  dijQ&culties, 
however,  though  sufficiently  embarrassing,  were  not 
the  worst  that  the  governor  had  to  oppose.  A  more 
terrible  calamity  than  any  of  these  presently  threaten- 
ed the  colony,  from  a  nearer  and  much  more  implaca- 
ble enemy. 


38  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  27.   Troubles  with  the  Indians. 

The  Indian  tribes  of  the  regions  ahout  New-Amster- 
dam became  incensed  against  the  whites  by  a  thousand 
petty  provocations,  arising  from  the  avarice  or  folly 
or  mere  wantonness  of  the  colonists,  and,  in  return, 
committed  such  acts  of  revenge  as  seemed  to  demand 
chastisement  from  the  government.  The  Earitans,  a 
tribe  residing  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  were  the 
first  to  feel  the  prowess  of  the  white  man.  Both 
parties  were  sufferers  in  the  conflict  that  took  place, 
and  the  Indians  gladly  accepted  the  proffered  terms 
of  j)eace.  Soon  afterward  a  Dutchman  was  killed  by 
an  Indian  belonging  to  a  tribe  located  near  Tappan 
Bay,  and  the  murderer  protected  by  his  tribe,  for 
which  cause  eighty  men  were  sent  to  inflict  due  pun- 
ishment upon  them.  Alarmed  at  the  threatened  in- 
vasion, the  Indians  promised  to  give  up  the  murderer. 
The  expedition  thereupon  returned  to  New-Amster- 
dam, but  the  promise  was  never  fulfilled.  A  quarrel 
subsequently  broke  out  between  the  colonists  and  the 
Hackensacs,  and  two  white  men  were  treacherously 
murdered  by  the  Indians.  The  chiefs  offered  wampum 
in  atonement,  which  the  governor  refused,  and  de- 
manded the  murderers.  Just  before  this  time  the 
Tappan  Indians,  fearing  an  attack  from  the  powerful 
tribes  of  the  Mohawks,  removed  down  into  the  neigh- 
borhood of  New- Amsterdam,  and  were  mingled  with 
the  neighboring  tribes,  especially  the  Hackensacs. 
Soon  after  these  united  bands  of  savages  came  and 
encamped  in  two  bodies  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
fort.  Their  design  was  evidently  not  Ijpstile  ;  but  the 
occasion  was  seized  by  the  enemies  of  the  Indians  at 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  39 

New-Amsterdam,  and  an  order  to  attack  them  was 
obtained  from  the  governor,  while  under  the  influence 
of  wine  at  a  holiday  feast.  The  attack  was  wholly 
unexpected  by  the  Indians,  and  very  little  resistance 
was  made.  A  terrible  slaughter  ensued.  About 
eighty  of  the  savages,  including  old  men,  women,  and 
children,  perished  miserably  in  the  conflict,  or  were 
afterward  murdered  in  cold  blood.  The  noise  of  the 
battle,  and  the  shrieks  of  the  women  and  children, 
could  be  plainly  heard  at  the  fort.  Next  day  the 
war  party  returned  into  the  town,  bringing  with  them 
thirty  prisoners. 

^  28.  An  Indian  war — A  treaty  of  peace. 

These  atrocities,  with  others  of  a  like  character 
that  were  soon  after  perpetrated,  aroused  the  Indians 
to  a  high  pitch  of  exasperation.  Eleven  petty  tribes 
united  to  make  war  against  the  Dutch,  whose  unpro- 
tected boweries,  reaching  in  every  direction  many 
miles  from  New- Amsterdam,  offered  an  easy  prey  to 
the  savages.  Many  houses  were  burned,  the  cattle 
were  killed,  the  men  slain,  and  several  women  and 
children  made  prisoners.  The  terrified  and  ruined 
colonists  fled  on  all  sides  into  New- Amsterdam,  and, 
all  who  could,  sailed  for  Holland.  The  expeditions 
sent  against  the  Indians  were  only  partially  success- 
ful in  subduing  them,  and,  worst  of  all,  discontents 
and  mutual  criminations  distracted  the  councils  of  the 
governor.  The  Indians  at  length,  satiated  with  blood, 
offered  terms  of  peace,  which  were  gladly  accepted  by 
the  whites,  and  a  respite  given  from  the  bloody  and 
ruinous  conflict. 


40  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  29.  More  Indian  wars — A  terrible  slaughter. 

But  the  peace  was  of  short  continuance.  A  new 
confederacy  of  seven  trihes  again  spread  consternation 
and  ruin  among  the  frontier  boweries;  the  settle- 
ments beyond  Newark  Bay,  and  those  on  the  west  end 
of  Long  Island,  were  laid  in  ruins,  and  only  three 
boweries  were  left  on  Manhattan  Island.  The  colo- 
nists were  clustered  in  straw  huts  about  the  fort, 
which  was  in  a  ruinous  and  hardly  ten  an  table  condi- 
tion— themselves  short  of  provisions,  and  their  cattle 
in  danger  of  starving.  A  palisade  was  erected  to  the 
north  of  the  town,  which  remained  for  half  a  century, 
and  is  still  commemorated  in  the  name  of  the  street 
(Wall-street)  that  finally  took  its  place.  The  next 
year  (1644)  was  occupied  by  an  expensive  and  har- 
assing Indian  war.  The  Indians'  villages  on  Staten 
Island  were  burned,  their  corn  destroyed,  but  they 
themselves  eluded  their  pursuers.  An  expedition 
against  a  small  village  in  the  vicinity  of  Stamford 
produced  nearly  the  same  results.  Not  so,  however, 
with  an  expedition  of  nearly  two  hundred  men  under 
the  command  of  Captain  John  Underbill,  sent  against 
a  hostile  band  near  Hemstede  (Hempstead)  on  Long 
Island,  by  which  more  than  a  hundred  Indians  were 
killed,  and  a  number  made  prisoners.  But  the  great- 
est slaughter  took  place  later  in  the  season,  when  a 
second  expedition,  under  the  same  commander,  was 
made  against  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Stamford.  The  villages  were  reduced  to  ashes,  and 
a  fearful  destruction  of  life  occurred,  with  all  the  ac- 
companying horrors  that  distinguished  the  famous 
Pequod  War. 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  41 

^  30.  A  reinforcement — peace  with  the  Indians. 

About  this  time  a  company  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  soldiers  arrived  in  the  colony  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  were  quartered  in  New- Amsterdam.  The 
Indians  had  suffered  greatly  during  the  summer  and 
autumn,  and  soon  ceased  active  hostilities,  and  asked 
for  peace.  Treaties  were  made  with  the  principal 
tribes  during  the  ensuing  year,  by  which  the  Indians 
agreed  to  remove  to  considerable  distances  from  New- 
Amsterdam,  and  not  to  approach  any  of  the  settle- 
ments with  their  war  parties ;  and  so  the  colony  was 
once  more  freed  from  the  horrors  of  a  savage  warfare. 

§  31.  Distress  in  the  colony — Kieft  recalled. 

The  settlements  about  New- Amsterdam  were  almost 
ruined  by  these  protracted  wars,  and  at  their  close 
could  number  scarcely  one  hundred  men.  Of  thirty 
flourishing  boweries,  but  five  or  six  remained,  and 
everything  bore  like  marks  of  ruin  and  disorder. 
Complaints  were  freely  uttered  against  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  governor,  which  at  length  induced  the 
directors  to  recall  him.  He  accordingly  sailed  for 
Holland  in  a  vessel  laden  with  furs  valued  at  nearly 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  was  wrecked  on 
the  coast  of  Wales,  and  about  eighty  persons,  including 
Governor  Kieft,  miserably  perished. 

§  32.   Peter  Stuyvesant  made  governor. 

The  successor  of  Kieft  was  Peter  Stuyvesant,  late 
governor  of  the  Dutch  West  Indies — a  soldier  by  pro- 
fession, and  a  man  of  good  parts  and  much  energy  of 
character.     The  beginning  of  his  administration  was 


42  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

distinguished  by  several  considerable  concessions  of 
popular  privileges.  The  monopoly  of  transportation, 
hitherto  enjoyed  by  the  company,  was  relinquished, 
and  trade  thrown  open  to  free  competition — though 
New-Amsterdam  continued  to  be  the  only  port  of 
entry. 

§  33.   Condition  of  the  province. 

The  population  of  the  entire  province  of  New-Neth- 
erland  at  this  time  (1647)  could  not  have  been  more 
than  about  two  thousand  souls^ — nearly  half  of  whom 
were  within  the  patroonship  of  Van  Kensselaer.  New- 
Amsterdam  was  a  village  of  wooden  huts,  with  roofs 
of  straw,  and  chimneys  of  mud  and  sticks,  abounding 
in  grogshops,  and  places  for  the  sale  of  tobacco  and 
beer.  At  the  west  end  of  Long  Island  were  six  plan- 
tations, governed  by  a  local  magistracy,  in  part  self- 
elected  ;  but  New- Amsterdam  was  still  governed  by 
the  sole  authority  of  the  governor  and  his  fiscal. 
Breukelen  about  this  time  first  received  a  village 
charter. 

§  34.    The  colonists  obtain  larger  liberties. 

In  1652  the  inhabitants  of  New- Amsterdam,  by  pe- 
titioning the  authorities  at  home,  obtained  enlarged 
municipal  privileges.  A  board  of  magistrates,  or  city 
court,  was  created,  composed  of  two  burgomasters  and 
five  schepens,  annually  selected  by  the  governor  from 
twice  those  numbers  nominated  by  the  magistrates 
of  the  preceding  year.  A  movement  was  also  made 
toward  a  still  more  popular  form  of  government,  by 
calling  a  convention  of  two  delegates  from  each  vil- 
lage, to  provide  against  a  threatened  war  with  New- 
England.     But  the  governor  dissolved  the  convention 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  43 

as  irregular,  and  sneeringly  characterized  it  as  a  New- 
England  invention,  with  which  he  would  have  nothing 
to  do. 

§  35.   Governor  Stuyvesant^s  diplomacy. 

For  several  years  Governor  Stuyvesant  was  chiefly 
occupied  with  the  foreign  relations  of  the  colony,  and, 
after  protracted  negotiations,  all  difficulties  were  ad- 
justed with  the  New-Englanders  on  the  east  and  the 
Swedes  on  the  south,  and  the  province  of  New-Neth- 
erland  reposed  in  quiet  and  safety.  It  should  not  be 
understood,  however,  that  the  Dutch  governor  obtained 
all  he  wished  in  these  negotiations ;  for  while  he 
claimed  both  the  Connecticut  and  the  Delaware  Eivers 
as  parts  of  his  province,  he  obtained  peace  only  by  re- 
linquishing both  of  them,  and  their  territories.  While 
engaged  in  these  transactions  with  the  neighboring 
colonies,  the  governor  was  in  danger  of  suffering  loss 
in  his  own  capital.  The  Indians,  taking  advantage 
of  the  absence  of  the  soldiers  from  the  town,  made  a 
descent  upon  it  with  sixty  canoes,  causing  great  alarrn, 
and  doing  some  inconsiderable  damage ;  but  they  dis- 
persed and  disappeared  as  soon  as  the  forces  returned. 

§  36.  Religious  liberty  in  spite  of  the  governor. 

The  affairs  of  the  colony  now  began  to  assume  a 
more  cheering  aspect.  Settlers  arrived  froni  various 
quarters  ;  among  them  a  number  of  Jews,  exiles  from 
various  parts  of  Europe,  and  also  fugitives  from  New- 
England,  driven  out  by  religious  intolerance.  Al- 
ready New-Amsterdam  contained  a  population  made 
up  from  almost  every  country  in  Europe,  and  of  nearly 
every  religious  creed.     This  leniency  in  matters  of 


44  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

religion  was  not  agreeable  to  the  taste  of  the  gover- 
nor, who  liked  the  Lutherans  and  the  Quakers  as 
little  as  did  his  neighbors  in  New-England ;  but  he 
was  overruled  by  his  superiors  at  home,  who  com- 
manded that  the  same  indulgence  that  made  the  pa- 
rent city  a  general  asylum  for  the  oppressed,  should 
prevail  also  in  its  namesake  on  the  Hudson ;  so, 
though  quite  contrary  to  his  wishes,  the  governor  per- 
mitted them  to  remain  in  peace. 

§  37.   Slaves  brought  from  Africa. 

The  Dutch  West  India  Company  was  largely  con- 
cerned in  the  slave-trade,  and  special  permission  was 
given  to  particular  merchants  to  send  two  or  three 
ships  to  the  coast  of  Africa  to  purchase  slaves,  and 
to  promote  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  im- 
porting them  into  New-Netherland.  Most  of  the 
slaves  thus  introduced  remained  the  property  of  the 
company,  and  the  more  trusty  and  industrious  of 
them,  after  a  certain  period  of  labor,  were  allowed 
little  farms,  paying  in  return  a  certain  amount  of 
produce.  Thus  early  was  the  African  race  introduced 
among  the  population  of  the  colony,  and  the  system 
of  negro  slavery  incorporated  among  its  institutions, 
to  remain  a  scourge  and  reproach  for  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years. 

§  38.  The  town  and  province  seized  by  the  English. 

Unquestionable  as  was  the  right  of  the  Dutch  to 
the  country  they  occupied  on  the  Hudson,  that  right 
had  never  been  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  the  whole  region  was  claimed  as  a 
portion  of  the  possessions  of  that  kingdom.     Several 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  45 

faint  attempts  to  assert  that  claim  had  heen  made  at 
different  times,  hut  without  success.  Soon  after  the 
restoration  of  Charles  11. ,  this  whole  terri terry  was 
granted  to  his  hrother,  the  Duke  of  York,  who  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  take  measures  to  seize  upon 
the  colony.  The  Dutch  knew  nothing  of  these  trans- 
actions before  the  ships  hearing  the  duke's  forces  had 
actually  sailed.  Eumors  of  the  intended  invasion  had 
reached  New- Amsterdam  before  the  arrival  of  the  hos- 
tile fleet,  hut  no  adequate  provisions  were  made  for 
the  public  defense.  Stuyvesant  would  have  given 
battle  to  the  invaders,  or  suffered  the  rigors  of  a  siege ; 
but  his  feelings  were  not  those  of  the  colonists  gen- 
erally. The  Dutch  cared  little  whether  they  were 
under  a  Dutch  or  an  English  yoke ;  and  the  English, 
who  constituted  nearly  half  of  the  entire  population, 
rather  favored  than  opposed  the  claims  of  their  owti 
countrymen.  Accordingly,  after  several  days  spent 
in  negotiations,  the  entire  colony  was  surrendered  to 
the  English,  (Sept.  8,  1664,)  on  terms  quite  satisfac- 
tory to  the  inhabitants. 

§  39.  New  masters  and  a  new  name. 

With  a  change  of  masters,  came  also  a  change  of 
name  to  the  conquered  colony ;  and  from  that  time 
both  the  province  and  the  chief  town  were  called  New- 
York,  in  compliment  to  the  duke,  who  now  became 
their  proprietor  and  ruler.  Though  greatly  improved 
under  the  administration  of  Stuyvesant,  this  embryo 
mercantile  metropolis  of  the  western  world  consisted 
as  yet  but  of  a  few  narrow  streets,  near  the  southern 
extremity  of  Manhattan  Island.  There  were  a  few 
handsome  buildings,  covered  with  tiles  brought  from 


46  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK. 

Holland ;  but  most  of  tlie  houses  were  thatched  cot- 
tages. 

§  40.   The  town — the  fort  and  Battery. 

The  plan  of  the  town  at  that  early  period  was  sub- 
stantially the  same  that  is  now  found  in  the  same 
locality.  The  water-line  has  been  carried  out  far  be- 
yond its  original  place,  so  that  what  were  once  out- 
side streets  are  now  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
water.  The  southernmost  point  was  occupied  by  thQ 
fort,  which,  however,  did  not  lie  immediately  upon  the 
water's  edge,  as  a  ledge  of  sunken  rocks,  extending 
off  this  point,  rendered  it  inaccessible  to  all  kinds  of 
water  craft.  Within  the  fort  was  the  residence  of 
the  governor,  the  public  oflSces,  and  the  Dutch  Cal- 
vinist  church.  Between  this  and  the  beach  was  an 
irregular  and  unoccupied  space,  which  was  used  as  a 
place  of  resort  for  out-door  exercises  by  the  towns- 
people in  these  primitive  times.  Of  the  manner  of 
usin^'  this  ancient  promenade  the  facetious  and  senti- 
mental Knickerbocker  gives  the  following  account : — 

"  The  old  burghers  would  repair  thither  of  an  af- 
ternoon, to  smoke  their  pipes  under  the  shade  of  the 
stately  sycamores,  contemplating  the  golden  sun,  as 
he  gradually  sunk  in  the  west,  an  emblem  of  that 
tranquil  end  toward  which  themselves  were  hastening; 
while  the  young  men  and  the  damsels  of  the  town 
would  take  many  a  moonlight  stroll  among  these 
favorite  haunts,  watching  the  chaste  Cynthia  tremble 
along  the  calm  bosom  of  the  bay,  or  light  up  the 
white  sail  of  some  gliding  bark,  and  exchanging  the 
honest  vows  of  constant  affection.  Such  was  the  origin 
of  that  renowned  walk,  the  Battery,  which,  though 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  47 

ostensibly  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  war,  has  ever 
been  consecrated  to  the  sweet  delights  of  peace." 

§  41.   The  Bowling-Green. 

Just  above  the  fort  was  a  triangular  space,  devoted 
to  no  special  purpose,  and  therefore  ready  to  be  occu- 
pied in  any  way  that  the  public  convenience  might 
require.  This  was  the  campus  where  the  field-sports 
of  the  men  and  boys  of  New-Amsterdam  took  place. 
At  an  early  period  it  was  used  by  the  soldiers  of  the 
garrison  for  their  manual  exercises,  and  hence  it  was 
called  the  Parade.  It  was  also  used  as  a  cattle  mar- 
ket, and  in  1659  an  ordinance  was  made  by  the  town 
authorities  regulating  the  manner  of  keeping  the 
cattle  here  offered  for  sale.  At  a  much  later  period 
it  was  inclosed,  and  devoted  to  the  purpose  that  has 
given  to  it  its  present  title — the  Bowling- Green. 

§  42.   The  streets  and  ''grafts.''' 

From  the  fort,  and  beyond  the  triangle  described, 
above,  a  broad  and  straight  roadway  led  back  toward 
the  cultivated  boweries  farther  up  the  island.  This 
was  from  the  beginning  the  principal  street  of  the 
town,  though  not  a  favorite  one  for  residences  on  ac- 
count of  its  distance  from  the  water.  The  Dutch 
called  it  "  De  Heere-straat,"  or  Main-street.  In  1665, 
when  an  enumeration  of  all  the  houses  in  the  town 
was  made,  this  street  had  only  twenty-one  dwellings. 
The  English  changed  its  name  to  Broadway.  Pass- 
ing along  the  south  side  of  the  fort,  a  street  extended 
along  the  East  Kiver  to  the  great  swamp,  where  it 
turned  away  to  the  northward,  leading  to  the  bower- 
ies.    The  western  portion  of   this  street  the  Dutch 


48  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

called  "  Perel-straat  f  and  tlie  more  easterly,  "  Hoogli- 
straat/'  or  High-street.    This  was  a  favorite  place  for 
residences  with  the  Dutch  settlers — ahout  one  quarter 
of  all  the  houses  in  the  town  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest were  on  this  street.     To  the  east  of  the  fort,  a 
short  distance,  was  a  small  stream,  ending  in  a  deep 
marshy  inlet,  just  eastward  from  the  rocky  point  of 
Manhattan  Island.     This  stream  and  inlet  were,  in 
the  early  days  of  the  colony,  excavated  and  turned 
into  a  drain  and  canal,  called  "  De  Graff     Houses 
were  afterward  huilt  upon  its  hanks,  after  the  manner 
of  Amsterdam  in  Holland ;  and,  as  several  smaller 
"  grafts  "  had  been  made,  this  began  to  be  called  "  De 
Heere  Graft,''  or  main  canal.     Into  this  canal  all  ves- 
sels trading  to  New-Amsterdam  were  accustomed  to 
enter,  for  the  purposes  of  lading  and  unlading.    Here 
was  the  custom-house,  and,  of  course,  the  "graft "  was 
an  object  of  no  little  interest  to  the  government. 
Twenty  dwellings  were  located  on  its  banks  in  1665. 
Immediately  under  the  east  wall  of  the  fort,  and 
reaching  down  to  the  water  close  by  the  rocks,  ran  a 
little  street,  that  seems  to  have  been  coeval  with  the 
town  itself.     The  Dutch  called  it  "  Winchel-straat," 
or  Shop-street:  it  was  paved  as  early  as  1658,  before 
any  other  street,  though  it  had  but  five  houses  at  the 
enumeration.     A  battery,  called  Whitehall,  was,  at  a 
subsequent  period,  erected  near  the  foot  of  this  street, 
and  that  name  has  since  been  given  to  the  street.    A 
street  was  opened  leading  eastward  from  the  south- 
east angle  of  the  fort,  and,  passing  the  "  Heere  graft" 
by  a  bridge,  ended  in  "  De  Hoogh-straat."    The  name 
-of  Bridge-street  was  naturally  given  to  it,  and  has 
never  been  exchanged  for  another.     Directly  above 


NEW-AMSTERDAM.  49 

this,  abutting  the  cast  side  of  the  fort,  was  another 
small  street,  called  "  the  Brewer's  street,"  as  it  was 
the  site  of  Van  Cortlandt's  brewery.  It  is  now  Stone- 
street.  Opposite  to  the  Parade,  eastward,  a  drain  was 
opened  leading  into  the  main  canal,  called  *•  Beaver- 
drain  ;"  and,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  canal,  an- 
other drain,  called  "  Prince's,"  entered  from  the  east. 
On  the  banks  of  these  drains  the  Dutch  had  erected 
about  thirty  houses  before  the  conquest.  Beaver- 
street  now  occupies  the  place  of  those  canals.  Below 
Beaver-drain,  and  parallel  with  it,  was  a  narrow  and 
inconsiderable  street,  called  Marketfield-lane,  along 
which  were  erected  eight  dwellings.  On  the  eastern 
side  of  the  town  was  a  street  leading  to  and  beyond  the 
city  wall,  called  by  the  Dutch  the  *'  Yley,"  and  by  the 
English,  Smith's  Valley,  subsequently  William-street. 
About  twenty  houses  were  found  on  this  road  when 
the  town  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

§  43.  Population. 
The  whole  number  of  dwellings  in  the  town  at  the 
time  of  the  capture,  including  several  outside  of  the 
palisade,  was  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty— -the 
aggregate  population  was  considerably  under  two 
thousand  souls.  Such  was  the  famous  city  of  New- 
Amster-dam  when  it  became  the  capital  of  the  Anglo- 
American  colony  of  New -York, — such  the  Empire  City 
at  the  close  of  its  first  half-century. 

3 


50  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTEE   III. 

NEW- YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE— 1664-1700. 
§  44.  "New  lords  make  new  laws^ 

The  political  transition  of  the  Dutcli  colony  of  Niew- 
Nederlandt  into  the  English  ducal  province  of  New- 
York,  caused  hut  little  agitation  among  the  people, 
as  it  made  but  little  change  in  their  affairs.     The 
proprietors  entered  quietly  upon  their  newly-acquired 
conquest,  and,  agreeably  to  the  terms  of  the  capitula- 
tion, set  about  ordering  public  matters.     Col.  Robert 
Nichols,  the  commandant  of  the  military  force  by 
which  the  conquest  had  been  made,  was  constituted 
civil  governor  of  the  province.     The  course  of  policy 
adopted  was  liberal,  and  well  calculated  to  render  the 
people  satisfied  with  the  new  state  of   things.     The 
people  were  not  treated  as  conquered  enemies,  but 
rather  recognized  as  loyal  subjects  of  the   British 
crown,  entitled  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  En- 
glishmen.    New  charters  were  issued  to  all  the  incor- 
porated towns  and  villages,  reaffirming  their  former 
liberties,  and  to  the  city  of  New -York  were  granted 
several   additional  and  highly  important  privileges. 
Instead  of  the  Dutch  municipal  dignitaries,  the  En- 
glish system  of  city  government  was  introduced,  and 
the  municipal  authority  committed  to  a  mayor,  sheriff, 
and  five  aldermen.     An  enumeration  of  the  male  in- 
habitants of  the  province  was  made,  and  also  of  the 
dwellings  in  the  principal  towns.     Of  the  results  of 
this  census,  so  far  as  the  city  of  New -York  is  concerned, 
some  notice  was  taken  in  the  preceding  chapter. 


DUTCH   COSTUMES. 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  53 

§  45.  Boundaries — the  duke'^s  code. 

As  New -York  liad  now  become  an  English  province,- 
it  was  no  longer  difficult  to  arrange  the  questions  of 
boundaries,  that  had  caused  so  much  trouble  while 
the  country  was  held  by  the  Dutch,  whose  claims 
reached  from  the  Connecticut  to  the  Delaware.  To 
the  cast,  on  the  main-land,  almost  everything  was 
conceded  to  the  English  colonies,  when  the  line  was 
fixed  nearly  as  it  is  at  present ;  while  on  Long  Island 
everything  was  given  up  to  the  duke  and  his  Dutch 
subjects,  much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  eastern  part  of  the  island,  who  were  wholly  of 
English  origin.  Toward  the  west  things  went  yet 
worse  with  the  claims  of  American-Dutch  empire. 
All  beyond  the  Ilud§on  Eiver,  as  far  up  as  Tappan 
Bay,  was  cut  off  from  New- York,  and  erected  into  a 
new  and  independent  province,  and  given  to  Sir  George 
Carteret,  by  whom  it  was  called  New-Jersey. 

The  new  governor  also,  by  the  authority  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  published  a  body  of  laws,  regulating 
the  internal  affairs  of  the  province,  and  defining  the 
duties  and  privileges  of  all  classes  of  persons.  These 
laws  were  of  a  truly  just  and  liberal  character,  and 
gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  people  generally,  and 
even  served  to  attract  settlers  from  the  neighboring 
colonies.  The  affairs  of  the  colony  seemed  to  be  de- 
cidedly improved  by  the  change  of  masters,  and  the 
whole  term  of  the  administration  of  the  first  English 
governor  was  quiet  and  prosperous. 

§  46.   Governor  Lovelace^s  administration.    • 

The  authority  of  Col.  Nichols,  the  acting  governor, 
was  derived  from  a  military  commission  ;  but  in  1667 


54  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

Francis  Lovelace  arrived  in  tlie  province,  bearing  a 
commission  from  the  duke,  as  governor,  and  imme- 
diately assumed  tlie  direction  of  public  affairs.  Among 
his  first  acts  was  one  imposing  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent, 
on  all  imports  and  exports,  by  the  sole  authority  of 
the  duke,  as  proprietor  of  the  province.  Though  this 
tax  was  not  greater  than  the  people  had  paid  under 
the  Dutch  governors,  and  though  it  was  to  be  used  in 
defraying  the  expenses  of  the  government  of  the 
province,  yet  the  people,  and  especially  those  of  En- 
glish extraction,  protested  against  the  imposition  of 
such  a  tax  without  their  consent,  as  inconsistent  with 
the  rights  of  Englishmen.  So  early  were  the  notions 
of  liberty,  and  of  hatred  to  arbitrary  taxation,  natu- 
ralized in  this  country,  and  especially  in  this  province. 
But  though  the  duke,  for  political  reasons,  had  begun 
his  career  of  government  by  making  concessions  to 
popular  rights,  he  evidently  had  no  notion  of  continu- 
ing as  he  had  begun.  The  protest  of  the  people  was 
treated  as  an  insult  to  his  authority,  and  ordered  to 
be  burned  by  the  hangman.  A  state  of  uneasiness 
and  dissatisfaction  was  the  result  of  this  course  of 
action  on  the  part  of  the  proprietary  duke ;  and  to 
this  were  also  added  some  slight  difficulties  between 
New -York  and  the  neighboring  provinces.  Apart 
from  these,  the  six  years  during  which  the  govern- 
ment was  administered  by  Lovelace,  passed  away 
quietly,  and  generally  prosperously.  He  appears  to 
have  been  a  just  and  moderate  magistrate  ;  the  single 
fault  laid  against  him  being  that  of  the  arbitrary  im- 
posts, which  were  laid  by  the  duke  rather  than  by  the 
governor,  and,  it  is  believed,  against  the  wish  and 
remonstrance  of  that  magistrate. 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  55 

§  47.  New-Netherland  revived — and  lost. 

In  1673  there  was  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
Holland,  and,  as  the  Dutch  had  never  wholly  given  up 
their  claims  to  their  late  possessions  on  the  Hudson, 
a  scheme  was  formed  for  their  recovery.  A  fleet  and 
armament  were  accordingly  dispatched  from  Holland 
to  recover  the  lost  province.  This  fleet  appeared  be- 
fore N^ew-York  on  the  30th  of  July,  and  demanded 
the  unconditional  surrender  of  the  city  and  province 
to  the  States-General  of  Holland.  The  governor  was 
absent  from  the  city,  and  the  fort  was  held  by  a  Cap- 
tain John  Manning,  who,  distrusting  the  fidelity  of 
the  inhabitants,  of  whom  the  greater  portion  were 
Dutch,  chose  to  obey  the  summons.  Accordingly,  by 
a  transition  as  easy  as  that  by  which  New-Netherland 
became  New -York,  the  latter  disappeared,  and  the 
former  again  arose  into  being.  Anthony  Colve  was 
made  the  governor  of  New- Amsterdam  revived ;  the 
local  magistrates,  especially  in  the  Dutch  towns, 
readily  swore  allegiance  to  the  new  government,  and 
then  all  things  moved  on  much  as  before.  But  the 
new  arrangement  was  destined  to  a  very  brief  exist- 
ence. A  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  the  next  year 
between  the  contending  claimants,  by  which  Holland 
entirely  relinquished  her  claims  to  the  region  on  the 
Hudson,  and  forever  extinguished  the  hope  of  the 
Dutch  colony  in  America — as  a  genuine  ofishoot  of 
the  parent  country  in  Europe. 

§  48.   Sir  Edmond  Andross,  Governor. 

The  province  of  New -York  having  been  lost  to  the 
duke  by  the  capture,  and  by  the  treaty  of  peace  re- 


66  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

stored  to  the  crown  of  England,  the  title  of  the  duke 
was  thought  to  have  been  vitiated.  To  obviate  any 
diflficulty  that  might  arise  from  that  cause,  the  duke 
took  out  a  new  patent,  by  which  all  his  former  pro- 
prietary rights  and  privileges  were  reaffirmed.  After 
this  he  appointed  Sir  Edmond  Andross  governor,  and 
sent  him  out  to  take  possession  of  the  province  in  the 
name  of  the  proprietor.  The  restoration,  like  the  first 
and  second  conquests,  was  performed  without  causing 
much  agitation.  The  people  readily  recognized  the 
new  governor,  and,  more  mindful  of  their  own  liberties 
than  careful  as  to  who  claimed  possession  of  the  prov- 
ince, they  earnestly  petitioned  for  increased  privi- 
leges. They  asked  to  be  admitted  to  a  participation 
in  the  government,  by  means  of  a  popularly  elected 
assembly.  The  governor  was  not  unfavorable  to  the 
prayer  of  the  petitioners,  but  when  the  matter  came 
before  the  duke  it  was  rejected.  He  had  bad  too 
much  to  do  with  popular  assemblies  nearer  home  to 
permit  them  in  his  proprietary  dominions.  He,  how- 
ever, revived  and  confirmed  the  body  of  laws  formerly 
promulgated  by  Colonel  Nichols ;  and,  by  a  procla- 
mation, declared  that  "  all  estates  and  privileges  pos- 
sessed prior  to  the  conquest  should  continue  to  be 
enjoyed.'' 

§  49.   State  of  the  province. 

A  survey  of  the  extent  and  resources  of  the  province 
was  made  about  this  time,  whose  results  indicate  quite 
a  favorable  state  of  things  in  the  infant  common- 
wealth. It  appeared  that  there  were  at  that  time,  in 
all,  twenty-four  towns  and  villages  in  the  province,  of 
which  sixteen  were  on  Long  Island.    The  city  of  New- 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  57 

York  had  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  houses,  and 
nearly  three  thousand  inhabitants.  In  the  entire 
province  were  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  inhabit- 
ants. The  annual  exports, — consisting  of  wheat,  to- 
bacco, beef,  pork,  horses,  lumber,  and  peltry, — amount- 
ed to  about  ;$240,000.  The  merchant  fleet  of  the  city 
counted  three  small  ships,  eight  sloops,  and  seven 
boats.  Agriculture  was  becoming  the  chief  occupa- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  and  even  on  the  island  of  Man- 
hattan this  was  a  principal  pursuit.  A  fertile  tract 
of  land  lying  between  what  is  now  the  Park  and  the 
Hudson  Eiver,  formerly  known  as  the  Company's,  and 
since  as  the  Duke's  Farm,  began  about  this  time  to 
be  an  object  of  interest. 

The  manners  of  the  people  at  this  period  were  very 
simple,  even  approaching  to  rudeness.  There  were 
but  few  servants,  and  fewer  slaves ;  yet  the  distinc- 
tions of  ranks,  especially  among  the  Dutch,  were 
jealously  observed'.  Between  the  Dutch  inhabitants 
and  those  of  New-England  extraction  but  little  good- 
will prevailed ;  though  the  superior  skill  and  energy 
of  the  latter  gave  them,  from  the  beginning,  a  deci- 
ded advantage,  and  at  length  a  preponderance  in  both 
language  and  manners. 

§  50.  Andross  arbitrary  and  unpopular. 

Andross  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the 
last  day  of  October,  1674,  and  immediately  gave  an 
earnest  of  an  arbitrary  administration.  Among  his 
first  public  acts  he  proceeded  to  fill  the  offices  of 
mayor,  aldermen,  and  sheriff,  for  the  city,  by  his  own 
authority — in  violation  of  the  chartered  rights  of  the 
citizens,  and  contrary  to  English  usages  as  to  incor- 

3* 


58  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

porated  towns.  He  also  imposed  taxes  in  the  same 
arbitrary  and  objectionable  manner.  But  the  most 
impolitic,  as  well  as  intolerable,  of  his  usurpations 
was  his  interfering  with  the  religious  liberties  of  the 
people.  From  the  earliest  times  the  Churches  in  New- 
York  had  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  ordering  all  their 
own  internal  affairs,  quite  independent  of  the  inter- 
ference of  the  government.  But  this  was  not  agreea- 
able  to  the  arbitrary  maxims  of  Governor  Andross. 
He  accordingly  assumed  the  authority  to  appoint  min- 
isters to  the  several  Churches  in  the  province.  This 
interference  with  their  cherished  privileges,  especially 
by  one  who,  though  nominally  a  Protestant,  was 
known  to  be  the  emissary  of  a  confessed  Papist,  and 
himself  no  friend  to  the  prevailing  faith  of  the  colo- 
nists, was  hio'hlv  distasteful  to  the  Dutch  Calvinists. 
Matters  were  presently  brought  to  a  crisis.  The  Cal- 
vinist  church  at  Albany  being  vacant,  the  governor 
appointed  a  minister  to  it  against  Ihe  remonstrances 
of  the  congregation.  No  sooner  had  the  new  incum- 
bent entered  upon  his  office  than  he  was  arrested  on 
certain  frivolous  charges  of  heresy,  and  thrown  into 
prison.  The  governor  now  interfered,  and  liberated 
the  minister,  and  caused  the  magistrates  who  had 
committed  him  to  be  arrested,  and  to  give  bonds  for 
their  appearance  to  justify  their  conduct.  One  of 
them — Jacob  Leisler,  a  name  that  will  presently  ap- 
pear again — refused  to  give  the  required  recognizan- 
ces, and  was  committed  to  prison.  But  such  was  the 
popular  excitement  that  the  governor  feared  to  pro- 
voke it  further,  and  therefore  Leisler  was  set  at  liberty, 
and  the  obnoxious  minister,  fearing  for  his  personal 
safety,  left  the  province. 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  59 

§  51.  A  new  governor — hetter  times. 

Andross's  arbitrary  manner  of  governing  was  found 
wholly  unsuitable  to  the  state  of  feelings  in  New- 
York,  and  though  he  had  only  carried  out  the  will  of 
his  master,  the  duke,  yet  it  was  now  determined  to 
remove  him  from  an  office  which  he  was  found  inca- 
pable of  filling  to  the  satisfaction  of  either  party.  He 
was  accordingly,  in  1683,  superseded  by  Col.  Thomas 
Dongan,  a  Papist  by  profession,  but  still  a  wise  and 
discreet' functionary.  He  seems  to  have  had  just  no- 
tions of  the  rights  of  all  parties  of  the  body-politic, 
whose  affairs  he  was  called  to  administer,  and  to  have 
ordered  his  conduct  with  a  strict  regard  to  all  such 
rights.  The  duke  had  evidently  learned  by  this  time 
that  his  proprietary  claims  did  not  cover  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  the  inhabitants  of  his  province,  and  that  in 
all  matters  of  political  administration  they  were  to  be 
taken  into  the  account  as  something  more  than  passive 
parties.  A  change  of  policy  was  evinced  by  the  fact, 
that  the  new  governor  brought  with  him  a  new  "  char- 
ter of  liberties,"  providing  that  "  supreme  legislative 
power  shall  forever  reside  in  the  governor,  council, 
and  people,  met  in  general  assembly :  every  freeholder 
and  freeman  shall  vote  for  representatives  without 
restraint:  no  freeman  shall  suffer  but  by  judgment 
of  his  peers;  and  all  trials  shall  be  by  a  jury  of 
twelve  men :  no  tax  shall  be  assessed,  on  any  pre- 
tense whatever,  but  by  the  consent  of  the  assembly : 
no  martial  law  shall  exist :  no  person  professing  faith 
in  God  by  Jesus  Christ  shall,  at  any  time,  be  in  any 
ways  disquieted  or  questioned  for  any  difference  of 
opinion."     An    assembly    was    soon   after   convened 


60  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  the  new  charter,  con- 
sisting of  seventeen  deputies  from  the  principal  towns 
in  the  province,  together  with  ten  council-men,  and 
the  governor.  Some  salutary  laws  were  enacted,  the 
necessary  supplies  were  cheerfully  voted,  and  all  things 
proceeded  pleasantly.  The  people  were  greatly  pleased 
with  the  new  arrangement  of  affairs,  and  everything 
seemed  bright  in  the  future. 

^  52.  New -York  becomes  a  royal  'province. 

The  death  of  Charles  II.  of  England  occurred  on  the 
6th  of  February,  1685,  and  despite  of  the  most  violent 
opposition  of  a  portion  of  the  lords  and  commons, 
previously  made  to  him  as  a  Papist,  the  Duke  of  York 
quietly  ascended  the  throne  with  the  title  of  James  11. 
By  this  change  of  the  incumbent  of  the  English  throne 
a  greater  change  occurred  in  the  political  relations  of 
the  province  of  New -York  than  in  those  of  other  por- 
tions of  the  British  empire;  since  while  these  only 
received  a  new  sovereign,  that  became  also  a  royal 
province.     The  new  sovereign  now  forwarded  a  royal 
commission  to  Governor  Dongan,  granting  him  powers 
wholly  inconsistent  with  the  "  charter  of  liberties," 
and  directing  him  to  administer  the  government  with- 
out the  aid  of  assemblies.     He  was  also  especially  in- 
structed to  allow  no  printing  in  the  province.     These 
oppressive  measures  produced   much   dissatisfaction, 
which  was  increased  by  the  remembrance  that  both 
the  king  and  the  governor  were  acknowledged  Papists 
— a  sect  against  whom  the  popular  prejudice  was  very 
strong,  and  who  were  justly  looked  upon  as  unsafe 
keepers  of  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  a  Prot- 
estant commonwealth.     It  was,  however,  conceded  by 


NEW -YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  61 

all  parties  that  Dongau  was  truly  a  gentleman  in  his 
manners,  a  man  of  integrity,  and  a  good  governor. 

§  53.  Livingston's  Manor  erected. 

Among  the  memorable  acts  of  this  governor  was  the 
erection  of  the  last  of  the  manorial  estates  founded  in 
Kew-York.  Kobert  Livingston,  a  Scotchman  by  birth, 
had,  several  years  previous,  come  as  an  adventurer 
into  the  province,  where  he  had,  by  marriage,  become 
connected  with  both  the  Schuyler  and  Van  Rensselaer 
families.  To  this  individual  was  now  granted  a  feudal 
principality  on  the  Hudson,  beginning  about  five  miles 
below  the  present  city  of  Hudson,  and  reaching  twelve 
miles  down  the  river,  and  backward  with  increasing 
breadth  to  the  Massachusetts  line.  This  was  the 
foundation  of  the  celebrated  Livingston  Manor,  to  this 
day  a  subject  of  interested  consideration.  Livingston 
himself  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
province  in  his  own  times  ;  and  among  his  descendants 
have  been  some  of  the  most  illustrious  names  in  the 
annals  of  the  country. 

§  54.  Dongan  replaced  by  Andross. 

Andross,  whose  unpopular  administration  in  New- 
York  has  been  already  noticed,  w^as  afterward  made 
governor  of  Massachusetts.  Though  he  had  been  put 
out  of  office  bv  the  duke  for  his  unfitness  to  manag-e 
the  affairs  of  the  province,  yet,  now  that  the  duke  had 
become  king,  it  was  determined  again  to  try  the  more 
arbitrary  rules  of  government,  and  therefore  no  other 
agent  was  so  well  fitted  to  his  purpose  as  Sir  Edmond 
Andross.  To  give  him  the  fullest  possible  sway,  all 
the  colonies,  from  Pennsylvania  eastward,  were  placed 


62  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

under  his  authority.  This  was  of  course  highly  grat- 
ifying to  the  ambition  of  Andross ;  and  not  less  so  to 
his  malice,  as  it  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  be 
avenged  upon  Dongan,  whom  he  could  never  forgive 
for  having  been  the  passive  agent  of  his  removal  from 
the  government  of  New  -York.  Of  course  Dongan  was 
displaced  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  power  came  into 
the  hands  of  Andross,  and  Francis  Nicholson  was  made 
lieu t'On ant-governor  in  his  stead.  These  changes  in 
the  affairs  of  the  province  were  highly  unsatisfactory 
to  the  people  of  the  province,  and  especially  to  those 
of  the  city  of  New -York,  who  saw  in  them  the  precur- 
sors of  greater  troubles  to  come.  But  a  change  was 
at  hand. 

§  55.   A  revolution  in  England — Leisler. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1689  a  rumor  reached  Ameri- 
ca that  the  king  had  been  dethroned,  and  succeeded 
by  William  of  Orange.  The  news  was  everywhere 
received  with  the  most  enthusiastic  joy,  and  nowhere 
more  so  than  in  the  city  of  New -York.  Of  course  the 
power  of  the  royal  governor  was  extinguished,  nor  did 
he  make  his  appearance  to  either  disclaim  or  to  exer- 
cise his  authority.  All  government  was  therefore  at 
an  end.  The  commissions  of  the  magistrates  were 
defunct,  and  no  king  was  proclaimed.  The  only  mili- 
tary force  in  the  city  consisted  of  five  companies  of 
militia,  of  which  Nicholas  Bayard  was  colonel,  and 
Jacob  Leisler  senior  captain.  Bayard  belonged  to  the 
aristocracy  of  the  city,  and  did  not  enjoy  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  generally,  being  suspected  of 
favoring  the  arbitraiy  measures  of  Andross's  admin- 
istration.    He  was  not,  therefore,  the  man  to  whom 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  63 

the  minds  of  the  people  would  turn  in  the  present 
emergency,  nor  was  he  forward  to  become  a  popular 
leader.  Shortly  after  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the 
revolution  in  England,  a  rumor  of  a  plot  to  massacre 
all  the  friends  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  obtained  cur- 
rency among  the  excited  populace.  The  people  at 
once  flew  to  arms,  and  rushing  to  the  house  of  Leis- 
ler,  demanded  that  he  should  take  the  direction  of 
public  affairs.  Lcisler  hesitated,  and  called  to  his 
counsel  several  principal  citizens,  who  strongly  urged 
him  to  comply  with  tlie  popular  request,  as  the  only 
means  to  avoid  great  confusion  and  probably  blood- 
shed. Thus  pressed,  he  at  length  assented,  and,  at 
the  head  of  the  militia,  took  possession  of  the  fort  and 
the  public  stores.  A  covenant  was  drawn  up,  and 
signed  by  the  militia  to  the  number  of  about  four 
hundred,  pledging  themselves  to  each  other  to  hold 
the  fort  "  for  the  present  Protestant  power  that  rules 
in  England  ;'^  and  a  committee  of  safety,  in  behalf  of 
the  citizens  at  large,  appointed  Leisler  "  Captain  of 
the  Fort,"  with  large  powers  as  provisional  governor. 
Having  caused  William  of  Orange  to  be  proclaimed 
king,  Leisler  addressed  a  letter  to  the  new  sovereign, 
setting  forth  the  grounds  of  his  proceedings,  and  ac- 
counting for  the  public  money  that  had  come  into  his 
hands. 

§  56.  Leisler  acts  as  governor. 

Things  soon  assumed  much  of  their  usual  quiet. 
Nicholson,  seeing  that  Leisler  was  supported  by  the 
people  generally,  took  the  advice  of  his  council  and 
sailed  for  England.  The  members  of  the  late  council, 
among  whom  were  Bayard,  Livingston,  and  Van  Cort- 


64  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

landt,  fled  to  Albany,  where,  being  sustained  by 
Schuyler  and.  Van  Rensselaer,  they  set  up  a  rival 
government,  professing  indeed  great  zeal  for  the  new 
sovereign,  but  denouncing  Leisler  as  an  archrebel. 

In  December  following,  a  royal  letter  came  to  New- 
York,  addressed  to  "  such  as  for  the  time  being  rule 
in  New-York,^'  and  inclosing  a  commission  for  Nichol- 
son as  governor.  But  as  he  was  already  on  his  way 
to  England,  Leisler  and  his  friends  construed  that 
letter  as  a  confirmation  of  his  power  in  the  office  he 
then  occupied.  He  therefore  assumed  the  title  of 
lieutenant-governor,  and  immediately  issued  warrants 
for  the  arrest  of  Bayard  and  his  associates  at  Albany. 
In  these  rash  proceedings  Leisler  was  stimulated  and 
directed  by  Melbourne,  his  son-in-law,  who  was  now 
sent  to  Albany  to  demand  the  surrender  of  that  place 
to  the  authority  of  Leisler  as  lieutenant-governor  of 
the  province.  Not  content  with  thus  establishing  his 
own  pretensions,  Leisler  caused  the  late  council-men 
to  be  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison,  and  their  estates 
to  be  confiscated.  Having  by  these  violent  measures 
put  down  all  opposition  in  the  province,  the  plebeian 
governor  next  directed  his  attention  to  the  foreign 
relations  of  his  realm.  The  French  king  having 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  banished  king  of  England, 
a  state  of  war  existed  between  the  two  kingdoms, 
which,  of  course,  extended  to  their  dependencies  in 
America.  Leisler  was  too  zealous  for  the  cause  of  the 
new  government  of  England  to  remain  inactive  in 
such  a  state  of  things.  Preparations  were  imme- 
diately made  to  prosecute  the  war  against  Canada, 
and  an  assembly  was  called  to  perfect  the  arrange- 
ments and  grant  the  necessary  supplies.     An  expe- 


\ 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  65 

dition  was  accordingly  fitted  out  against  the  French, 
who  had  already  made  a  hostile  demonstration  upon 
the  borders  of  Lake  Champlain ;  but  it  resulted  in 
only  partial  success,  and  became  an  occasion  of  great 
complaints  on  the  part  of  Leisler's  enemies. 

§  57.  Leisler  superseded. 

While  these  things  were  going  forward  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  Leisler's  letter  to  King  William  had 
gone  forward  and  reached  its  destination.  But  the 
king  was  too  much  occupied  with  matters  nearer  home 
to  pay  much  attention  to  the  affairs  of  a  distant  and 
unimportant  colony.  In  the  mean  time  the  enemies 
of  Leisler,  failing  to  defeat  him  at  home,  had  under- 
taken to  prepossess  the  mind  of  the  sovereign  against 
his  faithful  but  injudicious  servant,  now  acting  the 
part  of  governor  in  Xew-York.  Leisler's  letter  was 
accordingly  left  unanswered,  and  Col.  Henry  Sloughter 
was  sent  out  with  a  commission  as  royal  governor  of 
New-York,  and  a  company  of  soldiers  for  the  defense 
of  the  province.  The  new  governor  and  the  soldiers 
embarked  in  different  vessels,  and  that  bearing  the 
soldiers  arrived  first.  Ingoldsby,  the  captain  of  the 
company,  was,  on  his  arrival,  received  by  the  enemies 
of  Leisler,  and  immediately  brought  to  their  partisan 
views  and  antipathies.  He  accordingly  refused  to 
recognize  the  existing  government,  and,  as  he  bore  the 
king's  commission,  he  demanded  the  command  of  the 
fort.  Leisler  refused  to  surrender  the  fort  except  to  the 
order  of  the  governor,  which  Ingoldsby  could  not  pro- 
duce. The  acting  governor,  however,  made  a  procla- 
mation, recognizing  Sloughter  as  governor,  and  direct- 
ing Ingoldsby's  soldiers  to  be  provided  for  at  the  ex- 


66  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

pense  of  the  city.  Six  weeks  passed  before  the  arrival 
of  the  governor,  during  which  time  the  fort  was  in  a 
state  of  siege,  and  several  lives  were  lost  in  the  skir- 
mishes between  the  two  parties.  Sloughter  at  length 
arrived,  and  at  once  fell  into  the  same  snare  that  had 
before  entangled  Ingoldsby.  He  immediately  sent  his 
captain  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  fort ;  but  as 
the  order  was  only  a  verbal  one,  of  course  it  was  not 
obeyed.  The  next  step  was  to  arrest  Leisler  and  his 
council  for  high  treason. 

§  58.  An  affair  of  treason. 

Governor  Sloughter  became  entirely  the  instrument 
of  Leisler's  most  implacable  enemies,  who  did  not  fail 
to  use  their  power  for  his  ruin.  A  special  court  was 
instituted  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners,  though  the 
power  of  the  provincial  government  did  not  extend  to 
cases  of  high  treason.  Before  this  mock-court  the 
forms  of  a  trial,  in  the  cases  of  Leisler  and  Mel- 
bourne, were  gone  through,  and  the  prisoners  pro- 
nounced guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  No  de- 
fense was  attempted,  since  the  court  was  wholly  with- 
out authority  in  the  premises,  and  when  sentence  was 
pronounced  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the  king.  Sloughter 
was  in  favor  of  allowing  the  appeal,  and  therefore  re- 
fused to  order  the  execution  of  the  convicts  ;  but  those 
who  were  about  him  were  in  haste  for  the  blood  of 
their  victims.  The  governor  desired  the  assembly, 
then  in  session,  to  advise  a  temporary  reprieve ;  but 
as  that  body  was  made  up  of  violent  partisans  of  the 
ruling  faction,  it  was  not  done — and  on  every  side 
were  heard  demands  for  the  execution  of  the  prisoners, 
as  a  measure  essential  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  67 

province.  Still  the  governor  hesitated  to  proceed  so 
far,  in  the  very  face  of  the  law  and  the  usages  of  the 
English  courts.  But  where  persuasion  and  intimida- 
tion had  been  tried  in  vain,  stratagem  and  fraud  were 
more  successful.  A  public  dinner  was  given  for  that 
express  purpose,  at  which  the  governor  was  made 
drunk,  and  while  in  that  situation  made  to  affix  his 
name  to  warrants  for  the  execution  of  the  prisoners : 
then  he  was  put  to  bed  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night  in 
a  state  of  beastly  intoxication,  and  before  he  arose  the 
next  day  the  fatal  work  was  accomplished.  The  gallows 
on  which  these  victims  of  treachery  and  party  violence 
suffered  stood  beyond  the  city,  just  below  the  lower 
part  of  the  Common — a  little  to  the  east  of  the  site  of 
St.  Paul's  church.  Leisler  met  his  fate  with  a  good 
degree  of  firmness.  He  confessed  that  in  his  public 
career  he  had  erred  through  a  variety  of  inevitable 
causes,  but  died  protesting  his  loyalty,  and  the  integ- 
rity of  his  purposes  in  what  he  had  done.  Melbourne 
was  a  man  of  a  more  violent  spirit,  and  on  the  scaffold, 
seeing  Livingston  in  the  crowd,  who  had  come  out  to 
gratify  his  malice  by  beholding  the  death  of  his  ene- 
mies, he  called  out,  "  Eobert  Livingston !  for  this  I 
will  implead  you  at  the  bar  of  God !''  The  time  be- 
tween the  signing  of  the  death-warrants  and  the  exe- 
cution was  but  a  few  hours  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
night  and  the  early  morning:  yet  the  news  of  the 
intended  tragedy  was  widely  circulated,  and  though 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents,.nearly  the  whole  town  turned 
out  to  witness  the  sad  spectacle.  When  the  bodies 
were  taken  down,  the  multitude  rushed  greedily  for- 
ward to  obtain  some  last  mementoes  of  their  faithful 
leaders — shreds  of  their  clothing  or  locks  of  their  hair. 


68  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

So  died  tlie  first  popular  governor  of  the  province  of 
New  -York. 

§  59.   Character  of  Leisler. 

This  subject  ought  not  to  be  dismissed  without  some 
further  notice  of  the  character  of  Leisler.  Of  his 
honesty,  and  the  sincerity  of  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  the  people  and  of  the  late  revolution  in  England, 
there  is  no  cause  at  all  to  doubt.  It  is  equally  evident 
that  his  capacity  was  not  equal  to  the  work  he  took 
in  hand.  He  was  a  man  of  much  energy  of  character, 
but  of  moderate  abilities,  and  possessed  of  but  small 
advantages  of  early  education.  He  belonged  to  the 
plebeian  order  of  society,  and  his  sympathies  were  with 
the  common  people,  and  of  course  he  was  hated  by 
those  who  claimed  a  birthright  to  superiority.  When 
the  supreme  power  fell  into  his  hands  he  proved  him- 
self unequal  to  the  trust,  and  became  dizzy  by  reason 
of  his  sudden  elevation.  The  power  that  he  should 
have  used  to  conciliate  his  powerful  adversaries  was 
foolishly  wasted  in  irritating  them  by  needless  and  un- 
called-for severities.  The  feud  thus  commenced  con- 
tinued to  distract  the  province  long  after  his  death, 
and  at  last  that  justice  was  awarded  to  his  reputation 
and  his  family  that  was  then  denied  to  himself. 

§  60.   Sloughter'' s  administration. 

Such  was  the  inauspicious  beginning  of  Sloughter's 
administration  of  the  government  of  New- York.  He 
arrived  in  the  province  on  the  18th  of  March.  The 
drunken  bout  and  judicial  murder  just  detailed  are 
the  only  acts  related  of  him  during  his  stay  in  the 
city.  Not  long  after  these  events  he  made  a  visit  to 
Albany,  from  which  place  he  returned  in  July;  and 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  69 

soon  after  terminated,  by  a  sudden  death,  a  weak,  tur- 
bulent, and  sanguinary  administration  of  four  months 
— the  most  dishonorable  to  all  concerned  in  the  annals 
of  the  province. 

§  61.   Governor  Fletcher — reforms  attempted. 

By  the  death  of  Sloughter  the  government  devolved 
upon  Captain  Ingoldsby,  as  the  president  of  the  coun- 
cil.    But  the  next  year  (1692)  a  new  governor  arrived 
from  England.     This  was  Colonel  Benjamin  Fletcher, 
who  is  described  as  "  a  good  soldier,  active,  avaricious, 
and  passionate.''     He  seems  to  have  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office  with  a  sincere  purpose  to  discharge 
them  faithfully,  according  to  his  views  of  what  be- 
longed to  his  position.      His  attention  was  directed 
especially  to  the  religious  wants  of  the  province  ;  and 
as  he  was  very  zealous  for  the  Church  of  England,  he 
endeavored  to  introduce  a  supply  of  ministers  and 
schoolmasters  of  that  Church,  so  as  to  bring  over  the 
people  to  a  uniformity  of  religion  and  language.     At 
his  solicitation,  the  assembly  appropriated  money  for 
building  and  endowing  churches  in  various  parts  of 
the  province ;  but,  much  against  his  wish,  they  granted 
to  the  several  parishes  thus  endowed  the  privilege  of 
choosing  their  own  ministers.     Trinity   Church,   in 
New -York,  was  among  those  erected  under  this  pro- 
vision, and  through  the  influence  of  the  officers  and 
dependents  of  the  government,  it  was,  from  the  first, 
maintained  as  a  parish  of  the  Established  Church  of 
England.     The  other  endowed  Churches  also,  though 
contrary  to  the  designs  of  the  assembly,  passed,  one  af- 
ter another,  into  the  hands  of  the  same  sect.    Governor 
Fletcher  was  not  a  favorite  with   any  considerable 


70  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

class  of  the  people  of  New -York,  and  his  administra- 
tion, though  much  better  than  many  that  had  preceded 
it,  was  not  a  popular  one.  Nor  was  it  more  satisfac- 
tory to  the  home  government.  He  was  accused  of 
permitting,  from  interested  motives,  certain  violations 
of  the  "act  of  trade,"  to  the  prejudice  of  the  royal 
revenues ;  nor  did  he  escape  suspicion  of  favoring, 
for  a  like  reason,  the  pirates  that  then  infested  the 
American  seas.  He  was,  therefore,  recalled,  after 
having  filled  the  office  of  governor  for  more  than  four 
years. 

§  62.  The  pirates — Captain  Kidd. 

The  piracies  of  this  period  form  an  important  item 
in  the  history  of  those  times,  and  especially  as  to  the 
city  of  New -York.  Such  were  the  depredations  com- 
mitted by  these  robbers  of  the  seas,  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  adopt  some  active  measures  for  their  ex- 
tirpation. For  that  purpose  a  joint-stock  company 
was  formed,  composed  chiefly  of  merchants,  both  En- 
glish and  American,  to  purchase  and  fit  out  a  ship  of 
war  to  cruise  against  the  freebooters.  The  command 
of  this  vessel  was  given  to  Captain  Robert  Kidd,  a 
well-known  American  ship-master.  His  crew  was 
chiefly  selected  by  himself,  in  New -York,  and,  as  was 
afterward  believed,  not  without  reference  to  the  de- 
sign to  which  the  whole  enterprise  was  finally  per- 
verted. With  this  ship  and  crew  Kidd  was  for  a  long 
time  the  terror  of  the  seas ;  and  by  his  piracies  he  be- 
came more  infamous  than  did  Dr.  Faustus  by  making 
Bibles,  or  even  Bluebeard  by  murdering  his  wives. 
Scarce  a  bay  or  headland  along  the  Atlantic  coast, 
from  Maine  to  Florida,  is  without  its  legend  of  Captain 
Kidd,  the  pirate,  and  his  buried  treasures. 


NEW-YORK  AN  ENGLISH  PROVINCE.  71 

It  is  supposed  that  lie  frequented  many  of  the 
bays  and  islands  toward  the  eastern  part  of  Long- 
Island  Sound,  as  well  as  along  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Massachusetts.  Among  the  latter,  are 
Kidd's  Island  and  Money  Island,  on  one  of  which  is 
"  Kidd's  Cave,"  where  the  legends  of  the  credulous 
say  th^  pirates  were  accustomed  to  reside  when  in  this 
part  of  the  world.  It  is  not  improbable  that  these 
desolate  res-ions  were  sometimes  the  resort  and  lurk- 
ing-places  of  the  buccaneers  of  those  times,  though  it 
is  very  uncertain  whether  Kidd  ever  visited  them. 
Doubts  hava  been  expressed  whether  Kidd  was  not 
unjustly  accused  of  piratical  practices ;  but  it  can 
scarcely  be  believed  that  so  notorious  a  matter  could 
have  been  so  universally  credited  at  the  time  with- 
out some^  good  and  sufficient  evidence,  though  the 
thing  is  possible. 

§  63.   Lord  Bellemont,  Governor. 

The  active  efforts  made  against  Kidd,  previous  to 
the  time  now  under  notice,  had  driven  him  from  the 
ocean,  and  it  was  suspected  that  he  was  lurking  some- 
where in  the  American  colonies.  Lord  Bellemont, 
the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  been  a  large 
stockholder  in  the  company  that  sent  Kidd  abroad, 
was  directed  to  make  diligent  search  for  him.  To 
facilitate  this  business,  he  was  made  governor  of  New- 
York  after  Fletcher's  removal,  and  also  directed  to 
investigate  the  charges  that  had  been  laid  against  his 
predecessor.  He  was  also  especially  directed  to  en- 
force, with  exactness  and  fidelity,  the  "  act  of  trade.'' 


72  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  64.   Bellemont  and  the  Leislerians. 

In  the  British  parliament  Lord  Bellemont  had  taken 
a  lively  interest  in  the  reversal  of  the  attainder  of 
Leisler ;  and  accordingly,  when  he  came  to  New  -York, 
he  naturally  fell  among  the  friends  of  that  unfortu- 
nate chief.  He,  therefore,  ordered  the  hones  of  Leis- 
ler and  Melbourne  to  be  disinterred,  and,  after  lying 
in  state  for  some  days,  they  were  reinterred  with  great 
pomp  in  the  Dutch  church.  An  assembly  was  con- 
vened, in  which  the  Leislerians  had  a  majority,  and 
everywhere  that  party  was  in  the  ascendant.  An  in- 
demnity was  voted  to  Leisler's  heirs,  and  certain  "  ex- 
travagant grants  of  lands,"  made  by  Sloughter,  were 
declared  void.  It  was  also  provided  by  this  assembly 
that  no  governor  should  alienate,  for  a  longer  period 
than  his  own  term  of  office, "  the  King's  Farm,  the 
King's  Garden,  the  Swamp,  and  the  Fresh  Water." 
After  remaining  in  New -York  about  a  year,  Lord 
Bellemont  returned  to  Boston,  where  he  was  no  less  a 
favorite  than  in  the  Dutch  capital.  Soon  after,  he 
returned  again  to  New -York,  wliere  a  sudden  death 
put  an  end  to  a  happy  and  successful,  though  brief 
administration.  He  was  buried  in  Trinity  Church- 
yard, where  his  grave  remains  to  the  present  day. 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  73 

CHAPTER  IV. 

INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN— 167o-1700. 

§  65.   A  vieiv  of  the  city  in  1677. 

The  growth  of  New -York  city  during  the  whole  of 
the  seventeenth  century  was  steady  but  not  rapid. 
In  1677  an  enumeration  of  all  the  tenements  in  the 
city  was  made,  which  showed  an  aggregate  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty-four  dwellings  of  all  classes. 
The  progress  of  the  city  for  the  first  sixty  years 
of  its  existence  is  thus  shown  to  have  been  only  a 
little  more  than  six  houses  for  each  year.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  houses  by  streets  did  not  vary  materially 
from  the  plan  of  the  city  noticed  in  a  former  chapter. 
Pearl-street  still  had  the  greatest  number  of  dwell- 
ings ;  but  between  this  street  and  the  East  River  was 
a  belt  of  land  of  sufiicient  breadth  to  admit  a  row  of 
houses  to  be  placed  there.  This  of  course  became  a 
favorite  location  with  the  amphibious  Hollanders,  and 
at  this  enumeration  no  less  than  forty-eight  houses 
were  set  down  to  "  the  water-side," — the  future  Water- 
street.  Broadway  had  also  advanced  very  considera- 
bly, and  now  contained  some  fifty  dwellings ;  while 
on  the  extreme  east  side  of  the  town,  "  Smith's  Vley," 
or  valley,  (now  William-street,)  was  becoming  a  well- 
occupied  street.  The  city  wall  was  maintained  with 
much  care,  as  the  great  safeguard  of  the  inhabitants 
against  foreign  enemies. 

§  66.    Wards  of  the  city. 

At  this  period  the  city  was  divided  into  seven  wards. 
The  West  ward  included  the  streets  immediately  about 

4 


74  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

the  fort,  on  "both  sides  of  Broadway,  and  the  shore  of 
the  Hudson  Eiver.  The  North  ward  lay  to  the  east 
of  this,  and  west  of  the  canal,  and  came  as  far  south 
as  the  fort.  South  ward  lay  directly  below  this,  and 
was  the  wealthiest  portion  of  the  city.  Yet  further 
south  was  Dock  ward — also  a  rich  locality.  These 
last  two  wards  contained  more  than  half  of  the  entire 
property  of  Manhattan  Island.  East  ward  lay  in  the 
region  of  Smith's  Vley  and  the  Countess's  Key, — now 
Coenties-slip.  The  five  wards  covered  the  w^hole  area 
of  the  city  within  the  wall ;  hut  just  beyond  that  bul- 
wark, and  extending  some  miles  outward,  was  the  Out 
ward;  and  still  further  northward,  embracing  the 
upper  portion  of  the  island,  was  Harlem  ward.  Each 
of  these  portions  of  the  city  was  entitled  to  an  alder- 
man in  the  city  council. 

§  67.  Laws  and  ordinances. 

Tlie  city  fathers,  at  that  primitive  period,  appear 
to  have  exercised  a  truly  paternal  care  over  their 
municipal  charge.  It  was  ordered  that  "the  watch 
should  be  set  at  eight  o'clock  every  evening,  after 
ringing  the  bell,  and  the  gates  locked  at  nine,  and 
opened  again  at  daylight."  To  prevent  the  possibility 
of  a  surprise  by  the  Indians,  it  was  directed  that "  every 
citizen  should  have  a  musket,  and  powder  and  balls, 
constantly  in  readiness  for  use."  Especial  care  was 
taken  that  the  city  should  be  properly  provided  with 
public  houses;  and  as  if  there  was  danger  that  there 
would  be  some  lack  of  regard  to  the  wants  of  those 
for  whom  such  houses  are  provided,  it  was  further 
ordered  that  "  all  persons  who  keep  public  houses  shall 
sell  beere,  as  well  as  wyne  and  other  liquors,  and  keep 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OP  THE  TOWN.  75 

lodgings  for  strangers/'  and  a  tariff  of  prices  for  each 
article  of  refreshment  was  fixed  by  authority.  To 
facilitate  huilding,  it  was  ordered  that  "  the  land  in 
the  city  convenient  to  build  on,  if  the  parties  who  own 
the  same  do  not  speedily  build  thereon,  may  be  valued 
and  sold  to  those  who  are  willing  to  build."  The 
streets  were  to  be  cleaned  every  Saturday,  and  the 
carmen  were  required  to  carry  away  the  dirt,  or  for- 
feit their  license.  No  butchering  was  allowed  to  be 
done  within  the  city,  but  a  public  slaughter-house 
was  built  over  the  water,  beyond  the  wall,  in  "  the 
Smith's  Vley."  To  the  denizens  of  this  metropolis 
such  laws  as  these  read  strangely.  This  was  probably 
that  "good  old  time"  so  often  referred  to  by  queru- 
lous old  people. 

§  68.  Enlargement  of  the  city. 

In  1676  a  law  was  passed  providing  for  paving 
some  of  the  principal  streets.  That  now  known  as 
Whitehall-street  was  the  first  to  receive  this  attention. 
Soon  after  the  great  canal  was  ordered  to  be  filled  up, 
and  changed  to  a  street,  and  named  Broad-street, 
which  was  also  immediately  paved.  Previous  to  this 
the  water  had  come  up  to  Garden-street,  (now  Ex- 
change Place,)  and  the  ferry-boats  landed  their  pas- 
sengers near  the  upper  part  of  the  canal.  A  few  years 
after,  a  street  was  opened  between  this  and  Broadway, 
called  New-street,  by  Adrian  Waters,  for  which  con- 
tribution to  the  public  interest  he  was  exempted  from 
paying  taxes  for  six  years.  "  Beaver  graft "  was  also 
doomed  to  the  same  treatment  that  had  been  awarded 
to  "de  Heere  graft,"  and  the  road  in  the  Smith's 
Vley  was  regulated  and  paved  as  a  street  of  the  city. 


76  CITY  OE  NEW-YORK. 

§  69.  Regulations  of  trade. 

Tlie  tendency  to  cherisli  monopolies  was,  from  an 
early  period,  strongly  exhibited  in  tlie  affairs  of  tlie 
city.  Trade  was  accounted  a  peculiar  privilege,  that 
only  "  freemen  "  might  enjoy  ;  and  the  privileges  of 
freemen  were  granted  only  on  certain  carefully  guard- 
ed conditions.  The  price  paid  by  a  merchant  for  the 
"freedom  of  the  city"  was  six  heavers.  None  but 
freemen  of  three  years'  standing  were  allowed  to  trade 
up  the  Hudson,  and  only  those  of  New -York  city  could 
trade  over  sea.  The  shipping  of  the  port  amounted, 
in  1683,  to  about  thirty  sailing  vessels,  and  nearly 
fifty  open  boats.  The  number  of  carmen  was  fixed 
by  law  at  "  twenty,  and  no  more." 

§  70.  Thejiour  monopoly. 

But  of  all  the  monopolies  enjoyed  by  the  citizens, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  country  people,  that  of  bolting 
and  packing  flour  was  at  once  the  most  valuable  to 
the  former  and  oppressive  to  the  latter.  A  consider- 
able trade  in  flour  with  the  West  Indies  had  grown 
up,  of  which  the  farmers  in  the  interior  had  gladly 
availed  themselves  for  disposing  of  their  surplus  crops. 
It  so  happened,  however,  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
profits  of  this  trade  came  to  the  millers  and  the  mer- 
chants of  the  city,  who  bought  the  wheat  of  the  farm- 
ers, and  converted  it  into  flour  for  transportation. 
No  mill  was  allowed  to  be  erected  out  of  the  city  for 
making  flour  for  market,  and  the  packing  of  flour  was 
forbidden  to  all  but  the  city  millers.  Against  this 
oppressive  monopoly  the  country  people  remonstrated 
long  and  loudly  ;  and  as  the  provincial  assembly  was 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  77 

composed  chiefly  of  country  members,  it  was  at  length 
abolished.  This,  however,  was  not  effected  without  a 
severe  struggle,  and  only  against  loud  and  earnest 
remonstrances  on  the  part  of  the  city  people,  who  seem 
to  have  been  persuaded  that  the  perpetuation  of  their 
peculiar  privileges  was  essential  to  the  prosperity,  if 
not  indeed  to  the  very  existence,  of  the  city. 

§  71.  Further  extension  of  the  town. 
From  the  facts  stated  in  the  petition  of  the  city 
corporation  to  the  assembly  against  the  repeal  of  the 
"  flour  monopoly,' '  some  notion  of  the  growth  of  the 
city  may  be  obtained.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  in 
their  zeal  to  prove  the  great  value  of  the  trade  in 
question,  the  city  fathers  rather  over-estimate  the 
attainments  of  the  city.  They  state  that  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  trade,  in  1678,  only  three  hundred  and 
eighty-four  houses  were  found  in  the  city ;  the  annual 
revenue  was  not  over  two  thousand  pounds  ;  and  there 
were  only  three  ships,  seven  boats,  and  eight  sloops 
owned  in  the  city.  But  at  that  time,  when  the  trade 
had  been  in  progress  sixteen  years,  there  w^ere  sixty 
ships,  forty  boats,  and  twenty-five  sloops.  The  reve- 
nue had  also  increased  to  five  thousand  pounds  per 
year ;  and  there  were  nine  hundred  and  eighty-three 
houses,  of  which  not  less  than  two-thirds  depended  on 
the  flour-trade.  But  although  the  petition  in  favor 
of  the  monopoly  did  not  succeed,  the  city  survived  the 
shock ;  and  though  its  growth  was  afterward  less  rapid, 
it  was  quite  as  favorable  to  the  general  interest. 

§  72.  A  dangerous  rival. 
About  this  time  New -York  was  threatened  with  a 
formidable  rivalry  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  Hud- 


78  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

son.  The  people  of  New-Jersey  found  it  quite  too 
difficult  for  tliem  to  go  all  tlie  way  to  New-York 
to  do  their  trading,  especially  as  the  passage  of  the 
river  was  always  tedious  and  often  dangerous,  and 
so  a  market  was  set  up  on  their  own  side.  This  be- 
came a  cause  of  alarm  to  the  New-Yorkers.  Com- 
plaints were  made  that  "  trade  and  revenue  had  suf- 
fered," and  fears  were  expressed  that  New -York  would 
be  greatly  injured  by  the  "  diversion  of  trade  "  to  the 
west  side  of  the  river. 

§  73.  Progress  of  "  Breukelen" 

A  town  had  been  planted  just  across  the  East  Eiver 
at  an  early  period  of  the  history  of  New-Netherland, 
which,  from  the  unevenness  of  the  surface  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  was  called  Breukelen,  or  Broken- 
land,  a  name  since  softened  into  the  less  significant 
but  more  euphonious  word  Brooklyn.  This  town 
was  regarded  more  favorably  than  that  on  the  shore 
of  New-Jersey,  and  was  treated  rather  as  a  younger 
sister  than  a  dangerous  rival.  By  an  early  regula- 
tion of  the  corporation  of  New -York,  cooperating  with 
the  authorities  of  Brooklyn,  "  a  fay  re  and  market  was 
held  in  Breukelen  on  the  first  Monday,  Tuesday,  and 
Wednesday,  and  in  New -York  on  the  three  succeeding 
days."  A  regular  ferry  between  the  two  places  had 
been  maintained  for  many  years,  under  the  control 
of  the  corporation  of  New -York.  The  rates  of  fer- 
riage were  fixed  by  law, — "  for  a  single  person  eight 
stivers,  in  wampum,  or  a  silver  twopence ;  each  per- 
son in  company,  half  that  price ;  or  if  after  sunset, 
double  price."  This  ferry  at  an  early  period  became 
a  source  of  revenue  to  the  city.    For  several  years  pre- 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  79 

vious  to  1G98  it  was  rented  out  at  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds  a  year;  and  tliat  year  it  was  leased 
for  seven  years,  at  an  annual  rent  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  pounds.  The  lessee,  in  this  case,  was  the 
celebrated  Rip  Van  Dam,  an  individual  who  figured 
largely  in  his  times  in  the  affairs  of  both  the  city  and 
the  province. 

§  74.  Sales  of  city  lots. 

The  large  increase  of  houses  in  the  city,  noticed  in 
a  former  section,  necessarily  caused  an  increased  de- 
mand for  building  lots,  and  accordingly  we  find  fre- 
quent mention  of  sales  of  public  property  for  that 
purpose.  A  few  years  previous  to  the  time  now  under 
notice,  a  portion  of  the  old  burying-ground  in  Broad- 
way was  ordered  to  be  laid  out  in  lots  of  twenty-five 
feet  front,  and  "  sold  at  public  outcry."  This  is  the 
first  case  on  record  of  the  sale  of  real  estate  at  auction 
in  this  city.  In  1689  fourteen  lots,  "  near  the  Coun- 
tess's Quay,"  were  sold  at  auction  for  about  thirty-five 
pounds  each,  and  eleven  others  at  twenty-seven  pounds 
each.  A  little  later  public  surveyors  were  appointed 
to  lay  out  streets  and  lots ;  and  frequent  grants  of 
land  were  made  by  the  corporation  for  trifling  con- 
siderations. In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1692,  it 
was  directed  that  "  all  lands  in  front  of  the  Vley,  from 
the  block-house  to  Mr.  Beekman's,  be  sold : — the  lots 
between  the  block-house  and  the  Green-lane  (Maiden- 
lane)  at  twenty-five  shillings  per  foot ;  and  those  from 
the  Green-lane  to  Mrs.  Van  Clyff's,  at  eighteen  shil- 
lings per  foot."  These  lots  were  accordingly  offered  at 
those  rates,  but  found  no  purchasers — the  prices  being 
thought  above  their  value.     Soon  afterward,  however, 


80  CITY   OF  NEW-YORK. 

twenty-three  lots  on  the  Vley  were  sold  at  auction  at 
an  average  rate  of  about  twenty-six  pounds  each ;  a 
lot  at  the  end  of  Broad-street  was  valued  at  eighty 
pounds.  About  this  time  wharves  were  built  at  the 
foot  of  King  (Pine)  street,  and  of  Maiden-lane,  ex- 
tending out  from  high-water  mark,  which  was  then 
nearly  up  to  William-street. 

§  75.   Outside  localities. 

With  the  increase  of  the  city,  two  places  of  some 
importance  beyond  the  city  wall  began  to  come  into 
notice.  One  of  these  was  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Van 
Clyff,  who  seems  to  have  kept  a  public  house,  on 
Smith-street,  near  the  present  corner  of  John  and 
William-streets.  A  lane  was  opened  between  the  two 
leading  highways,  now  William  and  Pearl-streets, 
which,  on  the  early  maps  of  the  city,  is  called  Van 
Clyff-street, — this  now  constitutes  a  part  of  John- 
street.  At  a  mnch  later  period,  her  name,  with  a 
modernized  orthography,  was  given  to  a  street  lead- 
ing from  her  residence  to  "  the  Swamp." 

The  other  was  the  farm  and  residence  of  William 
Beekman.  His  house  stood  upon  a  gentle  eminence 
to  the  west  of  the  Swamp.  Mr.  Beekman  was  among 
the  most  considerable  citizens  of  his  times, — was  sev- 
eral times  chosen  alderman  of  his  ward, — and  was  the 
proprietor  of  a  large  tract  of  ground  in  that  neigh- 
borhood, including  "  the  Swamp,"  and  reaching  up  to 
"the  Common."  As  early  as  1656,  a  controversy 
arose  between  himself  and  some  of  the  citizens,  who 
claimed  the  right  of  driving  their  cattle  across  his 
lands.  The  case  at  length  came  before  the  city  coun- 
cil, where  the  defendants  showed  "that  it  had  been 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  TUE  TOWN.  81 

customary  with  them  to  herd  their  cattle  every  year 
on  the  Common,  and  there  had  been  a  right  of  way 
there  before  their  time."  This  defense  was  deemed 
satisfactory,  and  the  right  of  way  was  thus  established. 
A  lane  was  afterward  fenced  across  the  farm,  long 
known  as  Beekman's  lane,  for  the  use  of  those  enjoy- 
ing the  right  of  way  to  the  Common.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  Beekman-street,  which,  however,  was  not 
opened  and  regulated  as  a  public  thoroughfare  till 
nearly  a  hundred  years  later. 

In  1696,  Tennis  De  Kay  petitioned  the  corporation 
for  leave  *'  to  open  a  carte  way ''  from  the  head  of 
Broad-street  toward  the  city  Common,  "by  the  pye- 
woman'Sj'' — offering  to  do  all  th^work  necessary  at 
his  own  expense,  if  he  could  have  "  the  soil."  Proba- 
bly at  that  time  there  was  an  opening  in  the  wall  at 
the  head  of  Broad-street,  allowing  the  egress  and  in- 
gress of  teams  and  vehicles,  as  it  is  known  there  was 
no  gate  at  that  place.  The  petition  was  granted,  and 
the  beginning  of  Nassau-street  was  the  result.  At 
first,  indicating  the  professed  design  of  the  projector 
of  the  enterprise,  it  was  called  "  Horse-and-cart-street," 
and  afterward  "  Kip-street,"  till  it  received  its  present 
name. 

§  76.  Defenses  of  the  city. 

In  Governor  Dongan's  report  to  the  Board  of  Trade, 
in  England,  dated  in  1697,  he  complains  of  a  want  of 
adequate  defenses  for  the  city.  It  is  probable  that 
his  excellency  was  not  more  in  dread  of  foreign  ene- 
mies than  of  his  own  people,  who,  he  says,  were  "  grow- 
ing every  day  more  numerous,  and  are  generally  of  a 
turbulent  disposition."     He   describes   the  principal 


82  CITY   OF   NEW-YORK. 

fort  as  "  well  situated  for  the  defense  of  the  harbor, 
on  a  point  made  by  the  junction  of  the  Hudson  Eiver 
and  the  Sound."  It  had  thirty-nine  guns,  and  two 
mortar  pieces,  with  the  necessary  ammunitions  and 
military  stores.  The  inland  side  of  the  city  had  for 
fifty  years  been  protected  by  the  city  wall, — a  stock- 
ade of  timbers  and  heavy  planks,  that  extended  along 
the  line  of  the  present  Wall-street  from  the  East  Eiver 
to  Broadway,  and  thence  to  the  Hudson  River,  and 
down  its  bank  to  the  point  of  rocks  below  the  fort. 
This  wall  was  originally  built  to  protect  the  city  from 
the  Indians,  and  was  now  becoming  somewhat  neglect- 
ed, and  soon  after  was  entirely  removed. 

Agreeably  to  th»«  suggestions  of  the  governor,  ad- 
ditional fortifications  were  soon  afterward  erected  at 
prominent  points  around  the  city.  At  the  foot  of 
Winchell-strect  was  a  battery  of  fifteen  guns,  called 
Whitehall,  which  name  was  also  soon  after  given  to 
the  street.  Leyster's  Half-moon  stood  on  the  Hudson, 
near  the  fort.  The  State-house  battery,  of  five  guns, 
was  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  mole  and  dock, 
and  directly  in  front  of  the  State-house.  The  Burgh- 
ers' battery,  of  ten  guns,  stood  at  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  wall ;  and  the  North-western  block-house  at  its 
junction  with  the  Hudson  River.  At  the  city  gates, 
on  Broadway  and  Smith-street,  were  guard-houses  of 
stone  for  the  defense  of  the  gates,  which  served  also 
for  keepers'  lodges. 

§  77.   Public  edifices. 

The  public  buildings  of  the  city  were,  at  this  period, 
neither  numerous  nor  of  imjiosing  appearances.  The 
State-house  (stadt-haus)  stood  at  the  corner  of  Dock- 


y.  T/iePia/lel  in  thjf  Fori  of  .Vetryir^ 

2.  f^eyslef's  h^f  nuooih. 

a-  WhibthaU  BaUet-y  oFlSguiis 
^T/ieOld  Dock 

o-  Tkt  Cage  oiiil  Stotkf 

6.  Sttiitt  naiif^^  baHer-yofSgaiit 

7    Thf  SladJ  or  Sla/r  Hoiise 

8-  T/if  Ciisioin  House 

9    r/il-Brii^ilf 

10.  Bu  rifhfrs  or  Uir  Stifi  iut//ery  oF/Oy ; 

//.  TAe  SlaiiifhJer  //ouiry 

/2  .  T/ie  netf  Jioc/cs- 

J.i.  The  French   Church, 

14  T/i£  ,/eH\f  Slfnitftoifrie 

15  The  Fort  H'el/  a'lij  Fnmp 

16  FMets  allry 

IT  The  iCorksouHie  Ki-'ulevfllieCily 
18.     The  iiorlh  n'ei'f  blockliouse 


H^use 
20,20,  The  Stvnyp 

oniheysidf 

oflfieCxiv-. 
21  riu-  Dutch  CalvV^ti0^^ 

Church  hnllt Kfi^t^^!: 
Zt.TIv  Duhit  Ctt/fiiiist 

juiiiisleri'  Mon*'r- 
23,  Thehuryina  CK 

qroitttti   . 
ZyWintlmtll  . 
2J   TlieKjitifxFarlit   . 
26.  Col./) II iignit'y  tfurdeit . 
27,27,  Wells. 


Thr  plot  oC  lfretjn/li/es''n 
ittil  lor  ll'e  rrtin  i\-ler  Hatiyc 

•19  29.  The  Slorktule  wiHi  a 
hauicorearlh  onfheiit.siJ^ 

Si  31   The  City  Oiiles^ 

iZ.ApoTlerii  qttle 


tlTH.Cr  SAf.CNy    «-   MiA-iOf.-N. 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  83 

street  and  the  Countess's  Key.  This  building  was  sold 
and  diverted  to  private  uses  in  1699,  and  was  succeed 
ed  by  the  new  City  Hall,  erected  soon  afterward,  at  the 
head  of  Broad-street.  The  State-house  was  the  center 
of  municipal  affairs.  In  front  of  it  were  the  stocks, 
the  cage,  and  the  ducking-stool — instruments  for  the 
correction  of  minor  oflPenses.  The  Custom-house  was 
also  on  Dock-street,  a  little  farther  to  the  west.  At 
the  foot  of  King  (now  Pine)  street  were  abattoirs,  or 
public  slaughter-houses,  already  spoken  of. 

Of  places  of  worship — the  French  (Huguenot)  church 
stood  on  the  south  side  of  Beaver-street,  midway  be- 
tween Broadway  and  Broad-street.  The  Jews'  syna- 
gogue was  similarly  situated  on  Mill-street.  In  the 
fort  was  the  king's  chapel,  which  was  also  used  as  an 
English  church  ;  and  the  Dutch  Calvinists  had  a  church 
on  Garden-street,  just  east  of  Broad-street.  Trinity 
church  was  erected  on  the  spot  still  occupied  by  its 
successor  about  the  close  of  this  period.  Just  above 
this  church  was  a  piece  of  ground  set  apart  for  the 
site  of  the  parsonage,  and  beyond  this  were  the  build- 
ings "^belonging  to  the  King's  Farm.  Between  these 
buildings  and  the  river  was  the  windmill — one  of  the 
most  important  appendages  of  the  city — and  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  Broadway  was  Governor  Dongan's  garden. 

§  78.  A  view  of  the  city. 

From  an  examination  of  a  map  of  the  city  of  New- 
York,  dated  in  1695,  it  appears  that  all  within  the 
oity  wall  was  then  pretty  closely  occupied  with  build- 
ings. Broadway  was  reckoned  the  west  side  of  the* 
city,  as  there  was  no  street  between  it  and  the  river, 
except  a  path  along  the  stockade.     Outside  of  the 


84  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

wall  two  streets  were  laid  out  to  the  west  of  Broad- 
way, but  they  were  not  yet  occupied.  On  the  east 
side  of  the  town  Great  Queen  (Pearl)  street  skirted 
the  East  Eiver,  leaving  outside  of  it  the  space  between 
high  and  low-water  marks.  On  the  south  were  the 
"  Wet  Docks,"  inclosed  by  a  mole  reaching  from  the 
point  of  rocks  below  the  fort,  in  a  curve,  to  a  point 
near  the  Stat^-house,  within  which  the  shipping  were 
sheltered  from  winds  and  currents.  Beyond  the  wall, 
along  Great  Queen-street  and  the  Smith's  Vley,  were 
several  houses  erected,  and  a  number  of  buildings  were 
scattered  over  the  open  space  toward  Broadway,  up  as 
far  as  the  Green-lane.  The  population  of  the  city  had 
increased  at  this  time  to  over  four  thousand,  and  at 
the  ratio  of  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  twenty- 
five  years. 

The  aspect  of  the  city  of  New -York,  as  it  was  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  would  now  be  esteemed 
strangely  rude  and  grotesque.  The  whole  number  of 
houses  was  less  than  a  thousand,  and  these  were  very 
different  things  from  their  successors  of  the  present 
time.  They  were  constructed  principally  of  wood,  and 
were  of  the  rudest  workmanship — one  or  two  stories 
high,  with  sharp  roofs,  and  with  their  gable-ends  to 
the  streets.  A  few  were  of  brick  covered  with  tiles — 
materials  brought  from  Europe.  The  streets  were 
narrow,  crooked,  and  irregular ;  they  were  thronged 
with  swine  and  dogs ;  in  summer  they  were  over- 
grown with  weeds,  and  in  winter  obstructed  with  ice 
or  mud. 

^  79.   Character  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  the  report  of  Governor  Dongan,  already  referred 
to,  there  is  also  a  statement  as  to  the  composition  of 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  86 

society  in  the  province.  *'  For  tlie  last  seven  years," 
he  writes,  (that  is,  from  1680,)  "there  have  not  come 
over  to  this  province  twenty  English,  Scotch,  or  Irish 
families.  On  Long  Island,  the  people  increase  so  fast 
that  they  complain  for  want  of  land,  and  many  re- 
move thence  to  the  neighboring  provinces.  Several 
French  families  have  lately  come  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  from  England,  and  a  great  many  more 
are  expected,  and  also  several  Dutch  families  from 
Holland,  so  that  the  number  of  foreigners  greatly 
exceeds  the  king's  natural-born  subjects.'' 

The  French  immigrants  here  spoken  of  were  chiefly 
exiled  Huguenots,  who  had  fled  from  their  own  country 
to  escape  the  persecution  that  followed  the  repeal  of 
the  edict  of  Nantes,  by  which  religious  liberty  had 
been  secured  to  the  Protestants.  Many  of  these  im- 
migrants remained  permanently  in  the  city,  and  con- 
stituted a  valuable  portion  of  its  early  population. 
Others  located  themselves  at  New-Eochelle,  at  Haver- 
straw,  and  on  Staten  Island,  where  they  constituted 
orderly  and  valuable  communities,  out  of  which  have 
arisen  some  of  the  best  families  and  most  eminent 
citizens  of  the  province  and  State  of  New -York. 

^  80.  Morals  and  religion. 

Governor  Dongan's  statement  of  the  religious  con- 
dition of  the  city  is  not  very  flattering,  though  prob- 
ably as  much  so  as  the  state  of  the  case  would  justify. 
Of  ministers,  there  was  a  chaplain  belonging  to  the 
fort  of  the  Church  of  England,  a  Dutch  Calvinist,  a 
French  Calvinist,  and  a  Lutheran,  in  the  city.  Of 
the  ecclesiastical  distribution  of  the  inhabitants,  he 
remarks,  "  There  are  not  many  of  the  Church  of  P]n- 


SQ  CITY  or  NEW-YORK. 

gland,  few  Catholics,  abundance  of  Quaker  preachers, 
men  and  women,  especially  singing  Quakers,  ranting 
Quakers,  Sabbatarians,  Anti-Sabbatarians,  some  Ana- 
baptists, some  Independents,  some  Jews ;  in  short,  of 
all  sorts  of  opinions  there  are  some,  and  the  most  part 
of  none  at  all.  The  most  prevailing  opinion  is  that 
of  the  Dutch  Calvinists.  It  is  the  endeavor  of  all 
persons  here  to  bring  up  their  children  and  servants 
in  that  opinion  which  themselves  profess,  but  I  observe 
they  take  no  care  for  the  conversion  of  their  slaves." 

^  81.  Another  account. 

A  further  account  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  moral 
condition  of  New- York  is  given  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  Bishop  of  London,  by  the  Eev.  John  Miller, 
who  was  for  three  years  a  resident  of  the  province  as 
chaplain  to  the  king's  forces.  The  reverend  gentle- 
man's statements  give  even  a  darker  coloring  to  mat- 
ters than  the  governor's.  Viewing  everything  with 
the  eyes  of  an  exclusive  Churchman,  he  could  find 
very  little  to  approve  in  all  the  various  sects  with 
which  the  province  abounded.  Especially  was  he 
scandalized  by  the  irregular  method  of  conducting 
ecclesiastical  matters  in  the  towns  on  Lono-  Island, 
where,  though  nearly  every  parish  had  its  minister, 
yet,  as  these  had  no  episcopal  ordination,  they  were 
styled  "only  pretended  ministers."  Nor  is  the  ac- 
count given  of  the  ministers  of  the  English  Church 
more  flattering.  "  There  are  here,  and  also  in  other 
provinces,"  writes  the  reverend  chaplain,  "many  of 
them,  such  as,  being  of  a  vicious  life  and  conversation, 
have  played  so  many  vile  pranks,  and  show  such  an 
ill  light,  as  have  been  very  prejudicial  to  religion  in 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  87 

general,  and  to  the  Cliurch  of  England  in  particular." 
He  also  complains  "  of  the  great  negligence  of  divine 
things  that  is  generally  found  in  the  people,  of  what 
sect  or  sort  soever  they  pretend  to  be." 

"  In  a  soil  so  rank  as  this,"  continues  the  writer, 
**  no  marvel  if  the  Evil  One  finds  a  ready  entertain- 
ment for  the  seed  he  is  ready  to  cast  in ;  and  from  a 
people  so  inconstant  and  regardless  of  heaven  and 
holy  things,  no  wonder  if  God  withdraw  his  grace,  and 
give  them  up  a  prey  to  those  temptations  which  they 
so  industriously  seek  to  embrace."  "  It  is,  in  this 
country,  a  common  thing  for  the  meanest  persons,  so 
soon  as  the  bounty  of  God  has  furnished  them  with  a 
plentiful  crop,  to  turn  what  they  earn,  as  soon  as  may 
be,  into  money,  and  that  money  into  drink,  while 
their  families  at  home  have  nothing  but  rags  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  winter^s  cold.  And  if  the  fruits 
of  their  plantations  are  such  as  are  readily  converted 
into  liquor,  they  can  scarcely  wait  till  it  is  fit  for 
drinking,  but,  inviting  their  pot-companions,  they  all 
of  them,  neglecting  whatever  work  they  are  about,  set 
to  it  together,  and  give  not  over  till  they  have  drunk 
it  off*.  And  to  these  sottish  engagements  they  will 
make  nothing  to  ride  ten  or  twenty  miles  ;  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  one  debauch  another  is  generally  ap- 
pointed, except  their  stock  of  liquor  fail  them.  Nor 
are  the  mean  or  country  people  only  guilty  of  this 
vice,  but  they  are  equaled,  nay,  surpassed,  by  many 
in  the  city  of  New -York,  whose  daily  practice  is  to 
frequent  taverns ;  and  to  carouse  and  game,  their  night 
employment.  This  course  is  the  ruin  of  many  mer- 
chants, especially  those  of  the  younger  sort,  who,  car- 
rying out  with  them  a  stock,  whether  as  factors  or  on 


88  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

their  own  account,  spend  even  to  prodigality,  till  they 
find  themselves  bankrupt  ere  they  are  aware. '^ 

**  In  a  town  where  this  course  of  life  is  led  by  many, 
it  is  no  wonder  if  there  be  other  vices  in  vogue,  because 
they  are  the  natural  product  of  it — such  as  cursing 
and  swearing,  to  both  of  which  people  are  here  much 
accustomed — some  doing  it  in  that  frequent,  horrid, 
and  dreadful  manner,  as  if  they  prided  themselves 
both  as  to  the  number  and  invention  of  them.  This, 
joined  to  their  profane,  atheistical,  and  scoffing  method 
of  discourse,  makes  their  company  extremely  uneasy 
to  sober  and  religious  men." 

§  82.  The  remedy. 

As  a  remedy  for  these  crying  evils,  and  many  others 
that  he  enumerates,  the  reverend  chaplain  proposed 
a  plan  worthy  of  the  times  and  the  men  with  whom  he 
was  associated  as  a  Christian  minister.  It  was,  "  to 
send  over  a  bishop  to  the  province  of  New -York,  duly 
qualified,  commissioned,  and  empowered,  as  suff'ragan 
to  '  my  lord  of  London,'  to  take  with  him  five  or  six 
sober  young  ministers,  with  Bibles  and  prayer  books — 
the  bishop  to  be  appointed  governor,  on  a  salary  of 
,£1,500 ;  his  majesty  also  to  give  him  the  farm  in 
New -York,  commonly  called  the  King's  Farm,  as  a 
seat  for  himself  and  his  sucx^essors.'' 

^  83.  Governor  Fletcher''s  efforts  toward  improvement. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  at  about  the  time  this 
letter  was  written  Governor  Fletcher  was  endeavoring 
to  effect  something  toward  improving  the  moral  and 
religious  condition  of  the  province.  The  building  of 
churches  at  the  public  expense  was  a  part  of  his  plan ; 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TOWN.  89 

he  also  designed  to  introduce  ministers  and  scliool- 
masters  of  the  Church  of  England;  but  by  his  par- 
tiality toward  his  own  religious  predilections  he  be- 
came involved  in  disputes  with  the  people  of  the  prov- 
ince, who  had  little  favor  for  that  form  of  Church 
order  and  worship.  At  his  instance  law^s  were  enacted 
prohibiting  the  profanation  of  the  Lord's  day,  by  trav- 
eling, labor,  fishing,  hunting,  horse-racing,  or  fre- 
quenting tippling  houses,  and  also  against  drunken- 
ness. Other  vices  notoriously  prevalent  in  the  prov- 
ince, though  prohibited  by  law  in  other  provinces, 
were  left  unnoticed,  probably  because  they  were 
thought  to  be  too  deeply  seated  to  be  efiaced  by  legal 
remedies.  The  events  would  seem  to  prove,  that  how- 
ever necessary  such  reformatory  measures  might  have 
been,  the  governor  carried  the  use  of  legal  restraints 
as  far  as  the  people  would  bear  them. 

§  84.  Summary  view  of  society. 
The  social  aspect  of  the  city  of  New -York  at  the 
advent  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  very  far  from 
being  flattering.  The  population  was  composed  of  the 
rudest  and  most  heteroo-eneous  materials.  The  larff- 
est  class  was  the  native  Dutch,  children  of  the  orio-inal 
colonists,  who  had  grown  up  among  the  corrupting 
influences  of  a  rude  state  of  society,  without  educa- 
tion, and  untamed  by  even  the  simplest  social  refine- 
ments..  Their  manners  and  morals  appear  to  have 
corresponded  to  their  characters.  Their  lives  were 
spent  in  low  pleasures  and  gross  sensual  indulgences, 
varied  by  seasons  of  toil,  and  sufferings  from  diseases 
and  poverty.  A  large  portion  of  the  English  popula- 
tion was  little  better.     Between  the  Dutch  and  the 


90  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

English  but  little  good-fellowsliip  subsisted.  The 
former  considered  themselves  the  proper  heads  of  the 
social  body,  and  looked  upon  all  others  as  intruders 
and  low  adventurers,  seeking  wealth  or  pleasure  in 
indolence  and  reckless  amusements.  The  latter  es- 
teemed the  Dutch  as  a  conquered  race,  too  stupid  to 
share  in  the  direction  of  public  affairs,  and  unworthy 
to  be  admitted  to  social  equality  with  themselves. 
The  foreigners  were  a  mixed  class,  in  which  the  na- 
tional customs,  languages,  and  religious  creeds  of 
each  were  maintained,  but  all  of  them  degenerated 
and  depraved.  Few  of  the  natives  were  able  to  read 
and  write,  and  for  those  who  could  there  was  scarcely 
any  reading  matter  to  be  obtained.  In  such  a  state  of 
things,  moral  and  social  degradation  could  not  fail  to 
characterize  the  community. 


CONDITION   AND   PROGRESS.  91 


CHAPTEK  V. 

CONDITION    AND    PROGRESS— 1 700    TO    1770. 

§  85.   Tlie  city  as  it  was  in  1700. 

With  the  opening  of  tlie  eighteenth  century,  the 
city  of  New -York  entered  u}X)n  a  course  of  steady, 
though  moderate  progress  toward  its  present  state 
of  greatness  and  prospective  increase.  In  population 
it  had  attained  a  size  corresponding  to  that  of  a  mid- 
dle class  country  village  of  the  present  time,  though 
in  wealth  and  social  advancement  it  was  doubtless 
much  below  that  standard.  Its  population  was  made 
up  of  immigrants  from  several  countries  in  Europe,  or 
the  children  of  such  immigrants,  having  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  their  several  nationalities.  The  fusing 
process  by  which  this  heterogeneous  mass  has  been 
reduced  to  its  present  homogeneousness  had  not  then 
advanced  to  any  considerable  degree. 

^  86.  Composition  of  the  population. 

The  largest  division  of  the  inhabitants  were  of 
Dutch  origin,  though  the  natives  of  the  British  islands 
and  their  descendants  nearly  equaled  the  original 
Dutch  population.  A  considerable  number  of  Swedes 
and  other  Scandinavians  had  been  brought  from  the 
Swedish  colony  on  the  Delaware,  and  were  settled  in 
the  city  and  its  vicinity.  The  French  Protestants 
also  constituted  a  very  respectable  body  in  the  popu- 
lation of  the  city  and  province :  while  a  considerable 
number  of  Jews  and  other  refugees  from  religious 
persecution  contributed  to  the  motley  character  of  the 


92  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

social  body.  And  -last  of  all,  of  the  population  of  the 
city,  amounting  in  all  to  less  than  five  thousand, 
about  eight  hundred  were  negroes,  mostly  slaves. 
Such  were  the  conflicting  elements  of  the  social  and 
political  body  of  our  infant  metropolis,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago — of  which  it  were  too  much  to  ex- 
pect that  its  action  would  be  altogether  harmonious. 
The  process  by  which  most  of  these  classes  have  since 
become  amalgamated,  was  then  in  its  incipiency,  and 
it  is  not  strange  that  the  fermentation  caused  some 
disquiet. 

^  87.  Lord  Cornhury's  administration. 

Lord  Bellemont,  the  late  popular  governor,  died 
early  in  the  year  1701,  and  was  buried  in  Trinity 
church-yard.  After  his  death  the  colonists  were 
broken  up  into  factions,  the  soldiers  in  the  garrison 
became  mutinous,  and  a  violent  party  spirit  prevailed 
among  all  classes.  Next  year  Lord  Cornbury,  son 
of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  and  grandson  of  the  cele- 
brated statesman  and  historian  of  that  name,  arrived 
in  the  province,  bearing  a  royal  commission  as  gov- 
ernor of  New  -York  and  New- Jersey.  Though  descend- 
ed from  an  illustrious  family,  the  new  governor  pos- 
sessed very  few  qualities  adapted  to  awaken  the  ad- 
miration of  his  subjects,  or  to  commend  the  excellence 
of  hereditary  dignities.  A  profligate  in  life  and  char- 
acter, he  had  been  a  burden  to  his  friends  at  home, 
and  was  now  sent  abroad  that  he  might  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  his  creditors.  He  immediately  identified 
himself  with  one  of  the  leading  factions  in  the  prov- 
ince, and  succeeded  in  procuring  the  election  of  an 
assembly  having  a  majority  of  his  own  party.     Two 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  93 

thousand  pounds  were  voted  by  this  assembly,  osten- 
sibly to  pay  the  expense  of  the  governor's  voyage 
from  England,  but  really  as  a  present,  and  his  annual 
salary  fixed  at  )J4,000 — more  than  double  the  amount 
ever  before  allowed  to  a  provincial  governor.  Soon 
after  a  large  sum  was  voted  to  fortify  the  harbor,  and 
the  expenditure  of  it  intrusted  to  the  governor ;  but 
the  fortifications  were  not  made,  nor  was  the  money 
ever  satisfactorily  accounted  for. 

^  88.   Troubles  about  Church  matters. 

Cornbury  was  zealous  for  the  Church  of  England, 
and  denied  the  right  of  preachers  and  schoolmasters 
to  exercise  their  functions  in  the  province  without  a 
bishop's  license.  He  accordingly  caused  two  Presby- 
terian missionaries,  sent  out  by  some  dissenters  in 
England,  to  be  arrested;  but  the  jury  acquitted  them 
in  the  face  of  the  evidence  proving  the  charges  laid 
against  them,  and  the  verdict  was  greeted  by  the 
people  with  a  shout  of  applause.  The  governor's  un- 
popularity continued  to  increase  during  the  whole 
course  of  his  administration,  and,  after  many  and 
strong  remonstrances  had  been  sent  to  England 
against  him,  he  was  at  length  dismissed  from  office 
in  1708,  and  immediately  seized  by  his  creditors  and 
thrown  into  prison.  But  the  death  of  his  father,  soon 
after,  made  him  a  British  peer,  and,  quitting  the 
debtors'  jail,  he  assumed  his  seat  in  the  House  of 
Lords. 

§  89.  An  epidemic  in  New  -York. 

During  the  months  of  June  and  July,  1703,  the  city 
of  New -York  sufiered  from  an  epidemic,  for  the  first 
time  of  which  we  have  any  account.     No  less  tlian 


94  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

seventeen  persons  lay  dead  and  unburied  at  the  same 
time — a  very  large  number  compared  with  the  whole 
population.  Among  the  victims  were  the  mayor  of 
the  city  and  other  distinguished  citizens.  The  gen- 
eral assembly  met  at  Jamaica,  on  Long  Island ;  the 
people  removed  from  the  city,  and  a  general  alarm 
prevailed. 

§  90.   The  King's  Farm  given  to  Trinity  Church. 

Eeference  has  several  times  been  made  to  the  farm 
on  Manhattan  Island,  originally  the  property  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company,  and  known  successively 
as  the  Company's,  the  Duke's,  the  King's  and  Queen's 
Farm.  This  farm  was  now  presented  by  Queen  Anne 
to  the  new  English  Church  recently  completed  in  New- 
York,  and  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  assembly.  In 
process  of  time  this  farm  became  covered  with  build- 
ings, which,  let  on  long  leases,  produce  a  large  reve- 
nue, and  render  Trinity  Church  the  most  wealthy 
ecclesiastical  corporation  in  the  country. 

§  91.   Growth  of  the  city. 

The  internal  affairs  of  the  city  present  but  few 
notable  points  about  these  times.  The  population 
increased  gradually  but  slowly,  only  at  the  rate  of 
about  twenty-five  per  cent  in  ten  years.  In  1732  the 
number  had  reached  eight  thousand  six  hundred  and 
twenty-four,  and  the  dwellings  about  one  thousand 
four  hundred.  The  only  building  specially  noticed 
by  the  chroniclers  of  the  early  part  of  the  past  cen- 
tury, as  erected  during  its  first  ten  years,  was  "  a  rope- 
walk  in  Broadway,  opposite  the  Common,  covered  with 
bushes  and  brushwood."     The  Presbyterian  church  in 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  95 

Wall-street  was  erected  in  1720,  tlie  Middle  Dutch 
church  (now  occupied  as  the  Post-office)  in  1720,  and 
the  Jews^  synagogue  in  Mill-street  in  1730.  About 
the  same  time  a  lot  of  ground,  one  hundred  and  twelve 
feet  long  and  fifty  wide,  situated  to  the  south  of  Chat- 
ham-square, was  granted  to  the  Jews  for  a  burying- 
ground. 

§  92.  New  streets — sales  of  real  estate. 

Public  improvements  during  this  period  advanced 
very  slowly.  In  1729  Eec tor-street  and  others  to  the 
south  were  laid  out  and  reo'ulated.  Cortlandt-street 
was  opened  by  the  proprietors,  and  registered  as  a 
highway,  in  1732 ;  and  about  the  same  time  Water- 
street  first  appears  among  the  public  ways  of  the  city. 
The  price  of  land  was  steadily  advancing,  and  atten- 
tion began  to  be  directed  to  the  public  domain  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city.  In  1728  "  that  little  island  in  the 
Fresh  Water  was  appropriated  as  the  most  suitable 
place  for  building  thereon  a  magazine  and  powder- 
house."  About  this  time  ten  lots,  each  twenty-five 
by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  "  in  the  Swamp,  near 
the  cripple-bush,"  were  sold  to  Jacob  Roosevelt  at  ten 
pounds  each,  through  which  Roosevelt-street  was  after- 
ward opened.  The  same  individual,  a  few  years  later, 
purchased  the  whole  of  Eeekman's  Swamp  for  one 
hundred  pounds,  through  which  he  soon  after  opened 
Ferry-street.  In  1732  there  was  a  sale  of  seven  lots 
on  Whitehall-street,  near  the  Custom-house,  at  prices 
ranging  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds — a  great  advance  upon  the  prices 
paid  a  few  years  before.  About  this  time  a  small 
gore  of  land,  one  hundred  and  three  feet  in  length, 


96  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

(at  the  junction  of  Liberty-street  and  Maiden-lane,) 
was  given  to  Rip  Van  Dam,  on  his  petition,  for  the 
sum  of  ten  shillings,  "being  of  little  or  no  value  to 
any  one  else  but  him."  From  1732  to  1740  the  in- 
crease of  houses  in  the  city  was  only  sixteen. 

§  93.   The  first  new  spacers. 

The  first  regular  newspaper  in  the  city  was  a  small 
weekly  sheet  called  "  The  Gazette,"  issued  in  the  year 
1725.  At  first  this  was  designed  to  serve  only  as  a 
medium  of  commercial  intellio;ence  and  general  news. 
But  during  the  controversy  between  Governor  Cosby 
and  his  partisans  on  one  side,  and  the  council  and 
people  on  the  other,  this  paper  was  used  by  the  gov- 
ernor as  a  political  organ.  This  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  rival  paper — the  "  Weekly  Journal,"  pub- 
lished by  John  Peter  Zenger — which  was  filled  with 
articles  freely  criticising  the  conduct  of  the  governor 
and  his  supporters,  and  denying  the  legality  of  cer- 
tain recent  acts  of  the  administration.  Not  satisfied 
with  replying  through  the  Gazette,  Cosby  ordered  the 
Journal  to  be  burned  by  the  sheriflF,  imprisoned  the 
publisher,  and  prosecuted  him  for  libel.  The  only 
two  lawyers  in  the  city  who  would  undertake  his  de- 
fense were  excluded  from  the  profession  for  calling  in 
question  the  authority  of  the  court,  and  Zenger  seemed 
to  be  in  danger  of  lacking  proper  counsel  in  his  de- 
fense. But  on  the  day  of  trial,  to  the  dismay  of  the 
prosecutors,  the  venerable  Andrew  Hamilton,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, a  Quaker  lawyer  of  great  eminence  and 
speaker  of  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  appeared  for 
the  defense.  Hamilton  first  ofiered  to  prove  the  truth 
of  the  alleged  libel,  but,  according  to  English  prece- 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  97 

dents,  this  was  dLsallowed.  He  then  appealed  to  the 
personal  knowledge  of  the  jury;  no  evidence,  he  con- 
tended, was  necessary — the  facts  were  notorious,  and 
the  jury  knew  the  statements  in  question  to  be  cor- 
rect, and  they  ought  to  feel  themselves  obliged  to 
Zenger  for  having  exposed  them,  as  the  cause  was  the 
common  interest  of  the  whole  province.  In  spite  of 
the  instructions  of  the  court  to  the  jury  to  convict 
Zenger,  they,  without  leaving  their  seats,  rendered  a 
verdict  of  acquittal,  which  was  responded  to  by  shouts 
of  applause  from  the  people.  The  freedom  of  the 
colonial  press  was  thus  vindicated ;  but,  as  too  often 
happens  in  such  cases,  the  poor  printer,  having  served 
a  purpose,  was  left  to  struggle,  overwhelmed  with 
debts,  the  victim  of  official  odium. 

§  94.  The  negro  plot. 
The  year  1741  is  noted  in  the  annals  of  our  city  as 
the  time  of  the  celebrated  negro  plot,  and  the  terrible 
effects  of  that  delusion.  It  should  be  observed  that 
nearly  thirty  years  before  this  there  had  been  a  simi- 
lar panic  in  the  city  relative  to  a  negro  insurrection, 
at  which  time  nineteen  unhappy  wretches  were  sacri- 
ficed by  the  popular  phrensy.  But  the  delusion  of 
the  latter  period  was  yet  more  fatal  in  its  consequen- 
ces. Whether,  indeed,  there  was  any  plot  at  all, 
among  any  portion  of  the  blacks,  is  exceedingly  doubt- 
ful ;  there  is  no  ground  at  all  for  the  suspicion  that 
there  was  any  of  a  formidable  character. 

§  95.  How  the  panic  began. 
The  city  of  New -York,  at  the  time  of  this  remark- 
able excitement,  contained  a  population  of  about  eight 
thousand,  of  which  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred 

5 


98  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

were  negroes — and  most  of  these  slaves.  On  the 
18th  of  March  a  fire  occurred  in  the  fort,  which  con- 
sumed the  secretary's  office  and  the  Dutch  church. 
Ahout  a  week  later  another,  though  inconsiderahle 
fire  occurred,  and  within  two  or  three  weeks  later 
some  half  dozen  more,  most  of  them  however  only  the 
burning  of  chimneys.  These  frequent  fires,  together 
with  a  prevalent  belief  that  a  great  deal  of  petty  rob- 
bery was  carried  on  by  the  negroes,  with  the  aid  of 
certain  white  men,  gave  rise  first  to  a  general  uneasi- 
ness, which  soon  increased  to  a  panic.  This  was 
greatly  heightened  by  a  public  proclamation  offering  a 
reward  of  a  hundred  pounds  for  the  discovery  of  the 
incendiaries.  The  reward  was  too  tempting  to  be  long 
resisted.  An  indented  servant-woman  soon  after  ob- 
tained her  freedom  and  the  hundred  pounds  by  pre- 
tending to  divulge  a  plot  formed  by  her  master,  a  low 
tavern-keeper,  named  Hughson,  and  three  negroes,  to 
burn  the  city  and  murder  the  entire  white  population. 
This  information  was  like  a  spark  among  tinder.  The 
whole  population  was  thrown  into  a  paroxysm  of  rage 
and  fear.  The  militia  paraded  the  streets  almost 
continually ;  the  accused  parties  were  arrested  and 
hurried  away  to  the  jail,  and  the  utmost  rage  against 
the  negroes  inflamed  every  breast.  So  intense  was 
the  panic  that  the  most  unreasonable  and  contradic- 
tory statements  were  greedily  caught  up,  and  the  least 
suspicious  circumstances  were  construed  as  plain  evi- 
dence against  the  accused. 

§  96.  Its  progress. 

When  the  panic  was  once  fairly  begun,. it  readily 
supplied  itself  with  the  necessary  stimulants.      The 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  99 

prize  obtained  by  the  servant-woman  became  an  object 
of  envy,  ^nd  soon  further  pretended  revelations  were 
made.  An  Irish  woman  of  infamous  character,  who 
had  been  convicted  of  a  robbery,  was  tempted  to  turn 
informant  by  a  promise  of  pardon.  In  this  manner 
the  matter  grew  and  extended.  Informants  increased 
on  every  hand,  and  though  their  tales  were  quite  in- 
consistent, all  were  greedily  received  by  the  magis- 
trates and  people.  In  a  very  short  time  a  hundred 
and  fifty-four  negroes  and  twenty  whites  were  com- 
mitted to  prison,  as  accomplices  in  the  pretended  con- 
spiracy. 

^  97.  Nature  and  agents  of  the  pretended  plot. 

The  pretended  design  of  this  fabulous  plot  was 
never  very  definitely  made  out.  As  darkly  shadowed 
forth  in  the  statements  of  the  hired  informants,  there 
seemed  to  be  a  design  to  destroy  the  city  and  murder 
the  white  population,  so  as  to  afford  free  living  to  the 
blacks  and  the  white  conspirators.  The  infamous 
Irish  woman  implicated  Hughson  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  and  confessed  that  she  herself  had  entered 
into  the  conspiracy.  At  length  several  other  white 
persons  were  accused  by  her,  especially  one  Ury,  an 
English  Episcopal  clergyman,  but  acting  as  a  school- 
master— who  had  fled  from  his  own  country  to  escape 
persecution,  because  he  would  not  acknowledge  the 
right  of  the  reigning  family.  The  case  of  Ury  was 
peculiarly  a  hard  one.  He  was  entirely  unconnected 
with  the  infamous  gang  to  which  most  of  the  white 
victims  of  this  delusion  belonged ;  and  he  had  at  hand 
the  means,  could  he  have  been  heard,  to  prove  his  en- 
tire innocence.     In  the  pretended  revelations  of  thi| 


100  CITY  OP  NEW-YORK. 

Irish  courtesan,  Ury  was  declared  to  be  a  disguised 
Jesuitical  priest;  yet  lie  was  able  to  prove  tbe  con- 
trary beyond  a  question,  and  to  trace  his  history  con- 
tinuously from  the  beginning  to  the  time  of  his  arrest. 
But  the  object  of  trial  at  that  time  was  not  to  come 
at  the  truth,  but  simply  as  a  formality  preparatory  to 
the  infliction  of  death. 

^  98.  Proceedings  of  the  courts. 

There  were  at  that  time  only  eight  lawyers  in  New- 
York,  all  of  whom  volunteered  their  services  to  the 
government,  and  assisted  by  turns  in  the  prosecution, 
leaving  the  miserable  prisoners  without  the  aid  of 
counsel.  To  obtain  the  requir^  evidence  upon  which 
to  base  a  sentence,  pardon  and  freedom  were  offered  to 
any  who  would  turn  king's  evidence,  and  by  this 
means  any  amount  of  testimony,  to  almost  any  fact, 
could  be  obtained.  While  there  was  no  one  to  say  a 
single  word  for  the  accused,  the  lawyers  vied  with  each 
other  in  scurrility,  in  heaping  abuse  upon  them,  in 
which  they  were  only  outdone  by  the  judge,  when  he 
came  to  pass  sentence.  Many  purchased  their  own 
lives  by  confessing  their  participation  in  crimes  of 
which  it  was  afterward  proved  they  knew  nothing, 
and  accusing  others ;  and,  strangest  of  all,  some  con- 
fessed at  the  stake  their  guilt,  who  knew  nothing  of 
the  things  with  which  they  were  charged. 

As  the  result  of  this  bloody  delusion,  thirteen  were 
burned,  eighteen  hanged,  and  seventy  were  transport- 
ed. The  public  thirst  for  blood  seemed  now  to  be 
somewhat  satisfied,  and  the  phrensy  began  to  abate; 
a  reaction  at  length  ensued,  and  the  persons  remain- 
^g  in  prison  were  set  at  liberty. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  101 

§  99.   How  the  case  appeared  afterward. 

No  sooner  had  tlie  po])ular  excitement  subsided, 
ttan  it  became  evident  that  the  proceedings  had  been 
precipitate,  and  highly  improper.  As  to  the  fires  in 
chimneys,  none  but  partially  insane  persons  could  sus- 
pect that  incendiaries  would  seek  by  such  means  to 
burn  up  a  city ;  and  the  fire  in  the  fort  could  be  traced, 
with  almost  absolute  certainty,  to  an  accidental  cause. 
Just  before  that  fire  occurred,  a  plumber  had  been  at 
work  mending  the  roof  of  one  of  the  buildings  in  the 
fort,  having  a  pot  of  burning  coals,  from  which  a  high 
wind  was  scattering  sparks  about  the  building.  It 
was  also  seen  that  the  testimony  that  had  been  used 
was  wholly  unreliable,  since  nearly  all  the  witnesses 
had  been  bought  up  by  rewards  and  immunities  of 
such  magnitude  as  to  be  suflScient  to  corrupt  any  but 
those  of  the  severest  virtue.  It  soon  came  to  be  doubt- 
ed whether,  if  there  had  really  been  any  conspiracy 
at  all,  its  extent  had  not  been  greatly  overrated — a 
matter  as  to  which  there  can  now  be  no  question. 

^  100.  Proximate  causes. 

A  variety  of  causes  united  to  create  the  delusion 
that  resulted  so  fatally,  and  so  deeply  disgraced  the 
good  people  of  New -York.  The  mass  of  the  j^eople 
were  extremely  ignorant,  and  the  usual  accompani- 
ments of  popular  ignorance,  unreasonable  prejudices 
and  cruel  bigotry,  seem  to  have  pervaded  all  classes. 
Illiberality  was  a  prevailing  characteristic  of  the  age, 
favored  in  this  case  by  the  almost  perfect  isolation  of 
the  colonial  settlements.  The  prevailing  antipathy 
toward  the  Church  of  Home,  which  was  then  cherished 


102  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

as  a  sacred  religious  and  patriotic  sentiment,  con- 
tributed its  violence  to  the  prevailing  phrensy.  A 
non-juring  schoolmaster,  suspected,  as  already  shown, 
but  without  any  good  reason,  of  being  a  disguised 
Jesuit  priest,  was  accused  of  stimulating  the  negroes 
to  revolt  and  burn  the  city,  with  assurances  of  immu- 
nity against  future  punishment  by  absolution ;  for 
which  he  suffered  the  extreme,  penalty  of  the  law. 
Most  of  the  inhabitants  of  New -York  knew  nothinoc 
of  Eoman  Catholics  but  from  the  tales  of  horror  re- 
lated by  their  ancestors  of  the  cruelties  of  the  Span- 
iards in  Holland,  or  of  gunpowder  plots  and  Smith- 
field  burnings  in  England ;  and  therefore  the  sus- 
picion that  fell  upon  the  poor  schoolmaster  was  not 
only  fatal  to  himself,  but  invested  the  whole  afiair 
with  a  deeper  shade  of  bloody  atrocity. 

^  101.  Primary  cause. 

But  the  primary  cause  of  this  cruel  tragedy  is 
doubtless  to  be  found  in  the  unnatural  and  oppressive 
relations  of  the  two  races.  A  consciousness  in  the 
mind  of  the  oppressor  that  he  is  constantly  inflicting 
a  wrong  upon  the  victims  of  his  injustice  begets  in 
him  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  consequently  of  danger. 
Men  always  reckon  those  enemies  whom  they  injure, 
and  dread  the  occasion  when  the  injured  party  may 
seize  the  opportunity  to  vindicate  their  long-deferred 
rights.  Thus  a  suspiciousness  is  inseparable  from 
such  a  relation,  rendering  the  mind  sensitive  to  the 
most  vague  intimation  of  danger,  and  suggesting  the 
dreaded  cause  as  operating  to  produce  every  fortuitous 
event  that  may  transpire.  There  is  but  little  doubt 
that  this  cause  was  powerfully  active  in  producing  the 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  103 

panic  and  the  cruelties  of  this  pretended  or  real  negro 
plot. 

^  102.  Attention  to  the  cause  of  education. 

The  interests  of  education  were  but  little  regarded 
by  our  an#estors  till  a  comparatively  recent  period ; 
and  the  idea  of  diffusing  intelligence  among  the 
masses  seems  not  to  have  existed  among  them  at  that 
time.  Schools  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the 
common  people  were  unknown,  and  comparatively  few 
could  read  intelligibly  or  write  their  own  names.  In 
1702  a  grammar-school  was  established  by  the  cor- 
poration, and  a  master  sent  for  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, "as  there  was  not  any  person  within  this  city 
(with  whose  convenience  it  would  be  agreeable)  proper 
and  duly  qualified  to  take  upon  himself  the  ofiice  of 
schoolmaster  in  said  city.'^  The  school  thus  estab- 
lished continued  in  existence-,  in  some  form,  through- 
out the  colonial  period  of  the  country,  and  became  the 
nucleus  around  which  were  collected  the  original  ele- 
ments of  Columbia  College.  But  the  advantages  of 
such  a  school  were  necessarily  confined  to  the  more 
opulent  families,  while  the  poorer  and  middling  classes 
were  quite  without  educational  facilities.  As  a  neces- 
safy  consequence  of  this  state  of  things,  there  was  a 
prevailing  amount  of  popular  ignorance,  with  its  ac- 
companiments of  rudeness  and  illiberality,  that  can 
now  be  only  faintly  apprehended  by  the  more  favored 
people  of  this  metropolis  at  the  present  time. 

A  library  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-two 
volumes,  a  gift  from  Dr.  Millington,  of  London,  to  the 
corporation  of  the  city  of  New -York,  was  received 
through  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in 


104  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK. 

Foreign  Parts,  in  1729,  whicli  was  duly  accepted  and 
arranged  in  a  room  appropriated  for  that  purpose  in 
tlie  City  Hall.  This  was  the  first  public  library  ever 
established  in  New -York.  It  was  afterward  used  as 
a  circulating  library,  the  books  being  loaned  to  the 
citizens  at  sixpence  a  volume  for  a  week.  The  New- 
York  Society  Library  was  founded,  for  a  like  purpose, 
in  1740. 

§  103.  Increase  of  general  intelligence. 

The  establishment  of  the  first  newspaper  in  the  city 
has  been  already  noticed.  That  was,  however,  at  first 
rather  a  mercantile  and  political  afi'air  than  a  move- 
ment in  behalf  of  learning.  But  the  incidental  and  at 
length  direct  influence  of  a  free  press  upon  the  cause 
of  general  intelligence,  soon  became  too  evident  to 
escape  general  observation.  A  very  marked  change 
in  the  matter  of  general  intelligence  among  the  in- 
habitants of  New -York  took  place  during  the  forty 
years  preceding  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  This  in- 
tellectual progress  of  the  masses  led  to  a  higher  ap- 
preciation of  popular  liberty,  and  a  more  fearless  as- 
sertion of  the  rights  of  individual  freedom. 

^  104.  Political  affairs.  % 

The  political  history  of  New -York  city  for  thirty 
years  before  the  beginning  of  the  Eevolution,  is 
almost  wholly  destitute  of  incidents  of  general  in- 
terest. A  succession  of  royal  governors,  and,  at  fre- 
quent intervals,  lieutenant-governors,  who  were  gen- 
erally citizens  of  the  province,  held  the  chief  direction 
of  public  affairs — between  whom  and  the  assembly 
there  were  almost  perpetual  contests  for  the  ascend- 


CONDITION  AND  PROGKESS.  105 

ency.  But  the  history  of  the  province  and  that  of  the 
city  had  ceased  to  be  identical ;  the  city  had  attained 
to  an  individuality  of  its  own,  and  the  increase  of  the 
province  beyond  the  city  gave  a  more  general  charac- 
ter to  provincial  aftairs.  The  city  was  still  the  seat 
of  the  provincial  government,  and  the  residence  of  the 
governor  and  other  principal  officers :  but  the  muni- 
cipal affairs  were  almost  exclusively  managed  by  the 
local  officers  of  the  corporation,  who  were  more  or  less 
directly  dependent  on  the  popular  suffrages,  and  in ' 
many  cases  in  a  good  degree  imbued  with  the  popu- 
lar spirit.  The  period  under  notice  was,  in  a  variety 
of  aspects,  one  of  slow  but  steady  social  progress. 

^  105.  Enlargement  of  the  city. 

During  the  ten  years  from  1740  to  1750,  the  prog- 
ress of  the  city  was  much  more  considerable  than 
during  the  decade  immediately  preceding.  About 
four  hundred  houses  were  added  in  that  time,  and  the 
population  advanced  in  about  the  same  ratio,  though 
very  few  public  buildings  were  erected  for  a  long 
period  down  to  the  year  1750.  In  that  year  we  hear 
of  the  first  theater  ever  established  in  New -York,  and 
from  this  time  the  increase  of  public  edifices  was  rapid. 
The  Moravian  church  in  Fair  (Fulton)  street  was 
founded  in  1751,  and  St.  George's,  in  Beekman-street, 
the  next  year.  About  the  same  time  the  new  Ex- 
change at  the  head  of  Broad-street  was  built  by  pri- 
vate subscription.  King's  (Columbia)  College  was 
founded  two  years  later.  About  the  same  time  a  new 
market  was  built  "on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  near 
Dey-street,"  called  "  the  Oswego  Market,"— the  pre- 
decessor of  the  present  Washington  Market.    In  1757, 


5* 


106  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

a  large  number  of  troops  being  assembled  in  the  city, 
barracks,  capable  of  holding  eight  hundred  men,  were 
built  for  their  accommodation,  "  on  the  Commons,  be- 
tween the  jail  and  Catiemut's  Hill,'' — now  the  block 
of  ground  bounded  by  Centre,  Chambers,  and  Chat- 
ham-streets. The  building  was  four  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  long,  twenty-one  wide,  and  two  stories 
high.  In  1760  the  Baptist  church  in  Gold-street  was 
built,  and  five  years  later  St.  Paul's  chapel  in  Broad- 

^^^ay.  In  1766  the  Presbyterian  Church  petitioned  for 
the  "  angular  lot,  lately  called  the  vineyard,"  alleg- 
ing the  great  increase  of  that  persuasion,  and  their 
consequent  need  of  an  additional  place  of  worship ; 
and  the  land  asked  for  was  granted  at  a  rent  of  forty 
pounds  per  annum,  upon  which  shortly  afterward  was 
erected  the  brick  church  in  Beekman-street,  which  was 
at  first  called  the  "  Brick  church  in  the  fields."  The 
same  year  a  German  Lutheran  church  was  built  in 

•  "  the  Swamp,"  on  the  corner  of  William  and  Frankfort- 
streets  :  a  year  later  the  Scotch  church  in  Cedar-street 
was  erected :  the  next  year  the  Methodist  church  in 
John-street — the  first  of  that  denomination  in  Amer- 
ica :  and  in  1769  the  North  Dutch  church  in  Wil- 
liam-street. With  this  list  end  all  public  improve- 
ments of  any  note  till  after  the  war  of  independence. 

^  106.  Map  of  the  city  for  1729. 

The  best  notion  of  the  progress  of  the  city,  during 
the  period  embraced  in  this  chapter,  may  be  gotten 
by  comparing  a  series  of  maps  presenting  plans  of  the 
city  at  several  distant  periods.  In  a  former  chapter 
such  a  map  for  the  year  1695  was  described;  to  this 
will  now  be  added  a  notice  of  a  plan  of  the  city  as  it 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  107 

appeared  in  1729,  and  again  in  1763.     As  shown  by 
the  former  of  these,  New -York  at  that  time  extended 
no  farther  westward   than  Broadway,  except  that  a 
little  above  Trinity  church  two  or  three  streets  were 
projected,  designed  to  reach  down  to  the  river,  along 
which  a  few  small  houses  had  been  built.     To  the 
eastward  the  city  pressed  hard  down  upon  the  water, 
and  below  Great  Queen  (Pearl)  street  was  a  line  of 
houses  fronting  on  the  water,  the  rudiments  of  the 
future  Water-street.    Within  the  last  thirty  years  the 
city  had  grown  out  beyond  the  line  of  the  old  city- 
wall.     King  (Pine)  street,  running  along  the  outside 
of  the  old  palisade,  had  become"  a  well-occupied  street. 
Farther  up,  Crown  (Liberty)  street.  Maiden-lane,  and 
Golden   Hill,  (John-street,)  began  to  bear  the  aspect 
of   city   thoroughfares,    and    scattered    houses    were 
found  along  Fair,  (Fulton,)  Ann,  and  Beekman-streets, 
though  as  yet  these  were  but  partially  opened  and 
regulated.     Of  the  avenues  leading  into  and  out  of 
the  city,  Broadway  extended  only  to  the  Common  at 
the  south-west  angle  of  the  Park,  while  Kip  (Nassau) 
street,  though  only  partially  regulated,  came  up  along 
its  eastern  side  and  united  with  the  "  High-road  to 
Boston."     William-street  formed  a  kind  of  central 
avenue,  reaching  from  the  Vley  to  the  open  fields 
above  Beekman's   Swamp,  while  Great  Queen-street 
skirted  the  East  Pdver  as  far  up  as  the  high  ground 
now  occupied  by  Franklin-square,  whence  a  country 
road  connected  it  with  the  stage-road  for  Boston,  near 
the  "Fresh  Water."     Beyond  the  city,  to  the  north- 
west, lay  "  the  King's  Farm,"  as  yet  only  a  farm ;  in 
the  middle  was  the  Common,  having  the  Fresh  W^ater 
beyond  it ;  and  beyond  this,  to  the  north-east,  was  a 


108  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

high  range  of  wooded  hills,  near  the  homestead  of  the 
Bajard  family,  and  hence  called  Bayard  Mount.  To 
the  south  of  the  Fresh  "Water,  and  just  above  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town,  was  Beekman's  Swamp,  still  an 
unsubdued  thicket — and  yet  farther  eastward  was  the 
great  swamp  and  meadow,  then  in  all  its  original 
wildness. 

§  107.  Public  buildings  of  this  period. 

The  prominent  public  edifices  shown  in  the  map  un- 
der notice  are:  the  fort,  including  within  its  walls  the 
king's  chapel,  the  governor's  house,  and  the  secre- 
tary's office ;  Trinity  church  on  Broadway,  and  just 
"below  it,  on  the  same  side,  the  Lutheran  church ;  the 
old  Dutch  church  on  Garden-street,  and  the  new  one 
on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Crown-streets.  The 
Quakers  had  a  house  of  worship  on  Nassau-street,  and 
the  Baptists  near  the  head  of  Cliff-street:  on  Wall- 
street,  near  Broadway,  was  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  on  Mill-street  the  Jews'  synagogue.  The  Custom- 
house stood  on  Dock-street,  fronting  Whitehall-slip : 
the  Exchange  at  the  foot  of  Broad-street,  and  the  City 
Hall  at  its  head.  At  the  head  of  Countess's  Key  (Coen- 
ties-slip)  was  the  fish-market ;  the  meat-market  was 
at  the  foot  of  Wall-street,  and  Old-slip  market  at  the 
foot  of  William-street. 

^  108.  Aspect  of  the  city  at  that  time. 

At  this  time  (1729)  the  population  of  the  city  was 
little  more  than  eight  thousand,  and  the  number  of 
dwellings  about  fourteen  hundred.  For  the  next 
twenty  years  the  progress  of  the  city  was  inconsider- 
able, so  that  one  may  justly  figure  to  himself  the 


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CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  109 

image  of  this  great  city,  as  it  was  a  hundred  years 
ago,  as  that  of  a  rudely-constructed  village  of  scarcely 
ten  thousand  inhabitants,  with  ten  places  of  public 
worship,  of  almost  as  many  different  denominations', 
and  most  of  them  of  very  limited  proportions  ;  and 
the  few  other  public  buildings  of  equally  insignificant 
proportions.  The  day  of  its  progress  had  not  yet 
dawned  upon  the  future  Empire  City. 

§  109.  Map  of  the  city  for  1763. 

The  next  map  of  New- York,  dated  in  1765,  indi- 
cates that  a  very  considerable  progress  had  occur- 
red in  a  few  years  preceding  that  date.  The  plan  of 
the  city  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  extends  up  to 
Warren-street.  Farther  east  it  included  all  between 
the  High-road  to  Boston  (Chatham-street)  and  the 
East  Kiver, — Bookman's  Swamp  had  wholly  disap- 
peared. The  spirit  of  improvement  had  also  invaded 
the  Great  Meadow,  across  which,  from  north  to  south, 
were  laid  out  Eoosevelt,  James,  and  portions  of  Oliver 
and  Catharine-streets,  and,  from  west  to  east.  Water, 
Cherry,  Rutger's,  (Oak,)  and  Bancker's  (Madison) 
streets.  Several  streets  had  also  been  laid  out  along 
the  High-road,  beyond  the  Fresh  Water,  long  since 
occupied  as  a  portion  of  the  city.  Many  of  these 
improvements  were  indeed  as  yet  only  prospective; 
but  they  indicate  a  quickened  spirit  of  enterprise 
among  the  citizens.  The  third  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  was  to  New -York  a  season  of  pros- 
perity far  exceeding  anything  that  had  preceded  it. 
The  population  which  in  the  course  of  a  hundred  and 
forty  years  had,  in  1750,  scarcely  reached  nine  thou- 
sand, in  1773  numbered  nearly  twenty-two  thousand. 


110  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

A  like  progress  was  made  in  nearly  every  department 
of  tlie  city's  affairs.  This  has  been  shown  in  the  rapid 
multiplication  of  churches  and  other  public  buildings, 
m  the  extension  of  streets,  and  the  increase  of  the 
aggregate  area  of  the  city,  and  could  be  made  still 
more  evident  by  an  exhibition  of  the  increased  wealth, 
intelligence,  and  public  spirit  of  the  citizens.  The 
stimulating  cause  of  all  this  prosperity  remains  yet  to 
be  noticed. 

§  110.  Commerce  of  New -York. 

From  the  beo-innins;  New -York  has  been  a  com- 
mercial  city,  and  its  increase  and  stability  have  al- 
ways depended  upon  its  commercial  prosperity.  Of 
late  its  trade  had  greatly  increased.  Its  ships  visited 
many  foreign  ports ;  and  no  town  in  America,  not  ex- 
cepting Philadelphia,  surpassed  it  in  the  extent  of  its 
commercial  operations.  The  whole  amount  of  its  im- 
ports for  the  year  1769  was  a  little  short  of  a  million 
dollars, — a  great  advance  from  that  of  previous  years ; 
and  though  it  seems  small  compared  with  the  im- 
mense aggregates  now  realized,  yet,  compared  with 
the  population,  the  disproportion  is  much  less  remark- 
able. At  that  time  about  one-tenth  of  all  the  foreign 
commerce  of  the  British  American  colonies  centred  at 
New -York,  which  proportion  has  gradually  increased 
till  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  whole  foreign  trade  of  the 
United  States  is  found  at  that  port.  The  effects  of 
this  commercial  prosperity  were  felt  in  all  the  affairs 
of  the  city.  Increase  of  wealth  brought  with  it  an 
improved  style  of  building,  an  increase  of  public  work, 
greater  attention  to  personal  appearance  and  manners, 
and  at  length  more  attention  to  education. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  Ill 

§  111.  Religious  affairs — Presbyterians. 
A  change  in  the  moral  and  religious  affairs  of  New- 
York,  not  less  gratifying  than  that  of  its  commerce 
and  pecuniary  business,  was  carried  forward  during 
the  third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
spiritless  monotony  that  had  marked  nearly  all  the 
churches  of  the  city  from  the  beginning  was  now  in- 
terrupted, and  a  more  fervid  style  of  address  intro- 
duced into  the  pulpit,  and  a  spirit  of  earnestness  be- 
gan to  pervade  the  religious  assemblies.  This  was 
especially  the  case  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Wall-street,  of  which  Eev.  John  Eogers  was  for  a  long 
time  pastor.  Probably  few  individuals  have  conferred 
so  large  favors  upon  our  city  as  did  that  pious  and 
active  minister ;  and  to  him  is  the  city  generally,  and 
the  cause  of  religion  and  good  morals  especially,  and, 
above  all,  the  Presbyterian  denomination  in  New- 
York,  greatly  indebted.  The  increase  of  the  Church 
in  Wall-street  was  so  great  that  the  place  was  found 
insufficient  for  the  congregation  that  sought  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  privileges  of  public  worship  in  that 
place ;  and  this  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  second 
congregation — the  brick  church  in  Beekman-street, 
founded  in  the  year  1767.  The  new  religious  life 
that  had  been  infused  into  the  staid  congregation  of 
that  church  led  to  a  modification  of  some  of  the  old 
time-honored  forms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
especially  to  the  substitution  of  Watt's  Hymns  instead 
of  the  uncouth  version  of  the  Psalms  of  David  for- 
merly in  use.  But  such  innovations  were  viewed  with 
horror  and  alarm  by  the  more  rigid  adherents  of  the 
ancient  forms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  seces- 
sion had  consequently  taken  place  some  years  previous. 


112  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

and  the  separatists  about  this  time  organized  an  in- 
dependent ecclesiastical  body,  and  erected  the  First 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cedar-street. 

§  11^.   The  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 

The  same  influences  that  so  greatly  and  advan- 
tageously affected  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New- 
York,  extended  also,  though  in  a  less  degree,  to  the 
Dutch  Calvinist  Churches.  These  Churches — the 
original  religious  denomination  of  the  province — had 
well  maintained  their  ascendency  and  relative  numbers 
in  the  city.  Instead  of  the  original  edifice  within  the 
walls  of  the  fort,  a  new  one  was  erected,  in  1693,  on 
Garden-street,  near  Broad-street,  which  was  greatly 
enlarged  in  1766.  Another,  commonly  known  as  the 
Middle  Dutch  Church,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Cedar 
and  Nassau-streets,  (now  occupied  as  the  post-office,) 
was  built  in  1729  ;  and  now  (1769)  yet  another,  known 
as  the  North  Dutch  Church,  was  erected  at  the  corner 
of  William  and  Pair  (Fulton)  streets.  All  of  these 
several  Churches  and  congregations  formed  one  eccle- 
siastical corporation,  and  enjoyed  a  common  pastorate, 
which  important  office  was  held  by  the  venerated  Dr. 
Livingston.  Under  his  wise  and  judicious  administra- 
tion, and  by  the  influence  of  his  Christian  zeal  and 
fidelity,  the  rigid  formalism  of  these  ancient  Churches 
was  brought  into  a  more  practical  approximation  to 
the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  into  sympathy  with  the 
newly-awakened  religious  influences  that  were  actu- 
ating other  religious  bodies  in  the  city.  The  position 
thus  given  to  that  venerable  denomination  was,  both 
immediately  and  prospectively,  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  the  religious  affairs  of  New-York. 


SAIL-LOFT    IN   WILLIAM-STREET 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  115 

§  113.   The   Methodists. 

During  the  latter  portion  of  this  period  a  religious 
movement  was  commenced  in  New -York  which  pres- 
ently attracted  some  attention,  and  has  since  had  a 
large  share  in  directing  religious  affairs  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.     Ahout  the  year  1766  the  first  Meth- 
odist society  in  America  was  formed  in  the  city  of 
New -York.     Methodism  had  then  eftisted  in  Great 
Britain  as  an  organized  hody  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
and  its   "United   Societies"  were  found   in  almost 
every  part  of  the  kingdom ;  but  as  yet  no  attempt 
had  been  made  to  plant  that  form  of  Christianity  in 
this  country.    Whitefield  had  indeed  visited  this  coun- 
try in  his  missionary  tours,  and  had  borne  with  him 
the  name  and  spirit  of  Methodism,  but  not  its  form. 
He  had  also  labored  with  marked  success  in  New- 
York,  and  was  no  doubt  largely  instrumental  in  pro- 
moting the  changes  already  noticed,  especially  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.    But  hitherto  Wes- 
leyan  IMethodism  was  unknown  in  America.     About 
this  time  a  number  of  Irish  immigrants,  who  had  been 
connected  with  the  Methodist  body,  and  one  of  them  a 
lay-preacher,  came  to  New -York.     These  presently  set 
up  public  worship,  after  the  forms  they  had  been  ac- 
customed to  use  in  their  own  country,  first  in  a  private 
house,  and  afterward  in  a  rigging-loft.     The  house 
thus  rendered    memorable,  now,  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  a  hundred  years,  is  still  standing,  a  relic  of 
"  the  old  time.''    It  may  be  seen  on  the  south-easterly 
side  of  William-street,  about  midway  between  John 
and  Fulton-streets,  and  readily  distinguished  among 
the  lofty  modern  edifices  that  surround  it. 


116  CITY  OF  NEW-YOEK. 

§  114.  Embury  and  Captain  Webb. 

The  lay-preacher  just  spoken  of  was  Mr.  Philip  Em- 
bury, who  was  by  birth  and  education  an  Irishman, 
and  by  trade  a  house-carpenter.  He  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  true  piety,  and  of  very  considerable 
good  sense  and  energy  of  character.  He  naturally 
became  the  head  and  leader  of  the  little  company  that 
held  their  socialgconventicles  at  his  house ;  and  with  so 
much  favor  were  these  exercises  regarded  by  those  who 
were  admitted  to  them,  that  soon  more  sought  admit- 
tance to  them  than  could  find  accommodations  in  the 
narrow  limits  of  the  dwelling  of  the  mechanic  preacher. 
This  incited  them  to  procure  more  ample  accommoda- 
tions, and  accordingly  the  place  in  WiUiam-street  was 
obtained  for  a  house  of  public  worship,  where  Em- 
bury officiated  as  minister.  While  the  little  society 
were  occupying  this  humble  place,  an  event  occur- 
red that  suddenly  gave  no  little  notoriety  to  them- 
selves and  their  unimposing  chapel.  Among  the 
military  forces  then  in  the  province  was  a  Captain 
Webb,  who  held  the  office  of  master  of  the  barracks 
at  Albany.  This  officer  had  been  connected  with  the 
Methodist  societies  in  Great  Britain,  and  was  licensed 
to  officiate  as  a  lay-preacher.  At  the  time  now  under 
notice  Captain  Webb  was  in  New -York,  and  having 
introduced  himself  to  Mr.  Embury,  was  by  him  intro- 
duced to  the  assembly  in  the  "  rigging-loft,"  to  whom 
he  preached  in  his  military  costume.  The  novelty  of 
the  thing,  together  with  the  deference  that  was  felt 
for  an  officer  bearing  the  king's  commission,  awakened 
much  interest,  and  drew  out  many  to  hear  the  soldier- 
preacher  in  his  subsequent  ministrations.     Afterward 


JOHN-STREET   METHODIST   CHURCH. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  119 

Captain  Webb  was  stationed  at  Jamaica,  on  Long 
Island,  where  a  body  of  troops  was  tjien  quartered. 
Here  he  continued  his  efforts  as  an  evangelist,  and 
thence  also  paid  frequent  visits  to  his  friends  in  New- 
York,  fully  identifying  himself  with  the  little  society 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  Embury. 

§  115.    The  first  Methodist  church. 

The  zealous  efforts  of  these  unpretending  evangel- 
ists were  not  without  their  fruits.  The  attendance  of 
a  large  and  respectable  audience  at  the  "  loft "  in 
William-street  indicated  the  extent  of  the  impression 
that  had  been  made  upon  the  public  mind.  The  state 
of  thjngs  in  the  city  generally,  as  already  noticed, 
favored  this  new  enterprise,  and  in  return  received 
from  it  an  increased  impulse.  The  necessity  of  a  more 
commodious  place  of  worship  began  to  be  felt,  and  the 
practicability  of  procuring  one  to  be  discussed.  The 
undertaking  was  a  formidable  one ;  but  the  necessity 
was  seen  to  be  imperative,  and  so  an  effort  was  made. 
A  lot  of  ground  was  procured  on  a  slight  eminence  to 
the  east  of  Broadway,  called  Golden  Hill,  since  trav- 
ersed by  the  upper  part  of  John-street,  and  on  this  a 
wooden  building,  forty  by  sixty  feet  in  its  dimensions, 
was  erected.  The  funds  required  for  this  work  were 
obtained  by  private  donations  from  all  classes  of  the 
citizens,  together  with  a  small  sum  sent  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley from  England.  Mr.  Embury  did  much  of  the  car- 
penter's work  with  his  own  hands,  as  well  as  superin- 
tended the  whole  business.  The  building  was  finished 
in  the  autumn  of  1768,  and  dedicated  to  its  sacred 
purpose  by  a  sermon  and  other  religious  exercises, 
conducted  by  Mr.  Embury. 


120  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

^  116.  Methodist  preachers  arrive  from  England. 

Thus  far  the  little  Methodist  society  had  existed 
entirely  unconnected  with  any  other  association,  either 
at  home  or  abroad.  They,  however,  claimed  to  be  an 
integral  part  of  the  great  body  of  Wesleyan  Method- 
ists, then  rapidly  extending  in  all  parts  of  Great 
Britain.  Mr.  Embury  had  thus  far  conducted  the 
affairs  of  the  little  society  with  much  discretion 
and  ability ;  but  as  by  the  change  of  circumstances 
his  little  assembly  assumed  the  character  and  aspects 
of  a  Church,  requiring  the  services  of  a  regularly  au- 
thenticated minister  of  the  gospel,  he  felt  his  inade- 
quacy to  the  work  thus  thrown  upon  him,  and  wished 
some  other  to  be  intrusted  with  the  weighty  charge. 
A  petition  was  accordingly  sent  out  to  Mr.  Wesley, 
soliciting  the  appointment  of  one  or  more  preachers 
to  labor  in  America.  Two  individuals,  Messrs.  Pil- 
moor  and  Boardman,  were  therefore  sent  to  take 
charge  of  the  Methodist  society  in  New-York,  and  to 
commence  in  America  a  system  of  itinerant  evange- 
lization, similar  to  that  which  had  been  so  eminently 
successful  in  Great  Britain.  A  few  years  later  these 
were  reinforced  by  additional  missionaries  from  En- 
gland, among  whom  was  Mr.  Francis  Asbury,  since 
the  apostle  of  American  Methodism,  and  one  of  the 
first  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States.  The  present  Methodist  church  in  John- 
street,  erected  in  1842,  occupies  the  site  of  the  orig- 
inal edifice,  and  is  one  of  the  few  places  of  worship 
that  has  not  yielded  to  the  demands  of  the  commercial 
interests  of  that  portion  of  the  city. 


NEW-YORK  DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  121 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NEW- YORK  DURING  THE  REVOLUTION. 

^  117.  First  movements  toward  the  Revolution. 

The  political  history  of  the  city  of  New -York,  so  quiet 
and  devoid  of  interest  for  nearly  half  a  century,  be- 
came more  active  and  exciting  as  the  revolutionary 
struggle  approached.  No  other  town  in  all  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  had  so  much  to  lose  by  a  rupture  with 
the  mother  country ;  and  except  Boston  only,  no  other 
entered  into  that  contest  with  so  much  avidity  and 
determination.  But,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  the  more 
wealthy  citizens,  and  especially  the  great  merchants, 
were  averse  to  extreme  measures  of  resistance.  Here 
at  least  the  revolutionary  movements  were  led  on  by 
the  common  people,  but  for  whose  boldness  and  energy 
it  is  very  probable  the  others  would  have  submitted 
to  the  exactions  of  the  British  government. 

^   118.  Early  resistance  to  British  authority. 

The  honor  of  being  the  first  to  resist  the  assump- 
tion, by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  of  the  right  to 
tax  the  American  colonies,  has  been  very  generally  con- 
ceded to  Boston  and  Massachusetts ;  but  New -York  may 
safely  claim  at  least  equality  in  that  honor.  When 
Lord  Grenville's  scheme  for  raising  a  revenue  in 
America  was  first  brought  forward,  nearly  all  the 
colonies  remonstrated  against  it ;  but  generally  in 
tones  so  subdued,  and  with  so  many  protestations  of 
loyalty,  as  to  rather  assure  than  intimidate  the  ex- 
acting  and    rapacious    home-government.      But   the 

6 


122  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

assembly  of  New -York  spoke  out  in  louder  and  more 
decided  tones, — so  muck  so  that  no  member  of  the 
British  Parliament  would  present  their  petition  to 
that  body.  The  spirit  of  the  Kew-Yorkers  was 
quickly  taken  by  some  of  the  other  colonial  assem- 
blies. Ehode  Island  soon  after  echoed  the  language 
of  New -York,  and  the  Massachusetts  leaders  presently 
changed  their  protestations  of  loyalty  and  humble 
petitions  for  relief  to  language  more  befitting  the 
character  of  freemen. 

§  119.   Opposition  to  the  Stamp-act. 

In  1765  came  the  affair  of  the  Stamp-act.  By  this 
law  the  government  of  Great  Britain  endeavored  to 
raise  a  revenue  in  America  by  the  sale  of  government 
stamps.  To  effect  this  it  was  ordered  that  all  legal 
instruments,  of  w^hatever  kind,  should  be  written  on 
paper  bearing  the  stamp  of  the  government ;  and  for 
these  stamps  large  sums  were  required  in  favor  of 
the  national  exchequer. 

The  attempt  to  carry  this  measure  into  effect  brought 
the  affairs  of  the  colonies  to  a  crisis.  In  New-Y"ork 
the  citizens  took  a  most  decided  stand  against  it. 
Two  companies  paraded  the  streets  on  the  evening  of 
the  first  day  of  November,  when  the  Stamp-act  was  to 
go  into  force,  setting  the  police  at  defiance,  and  de- 
manding the  obnoxious  stamps — which,  on  the  resig- 
nation of  the  stamp-distributor,  had  been  left  with 
Golden,  the  lieutenant-governor,  by  whom  they  had 
been  deposited  for  safe-keeping  in  the  fort.  Golden 
was  hung  in  effigy;  and,  proceeding  to  a  still  more 
riotous  course  of  action,  the  mob  seized  and  burned 
his  carriage  under  the  muzzles  of  the  guns  of  the  fort. 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  123 

The  furniture  of  several  other  officers  of  the  crown 
was  also  destroyed.  Alarmed  at  these  proceedings, 
and  fearing  for  his  personal  safety,  Golden  at  length 
gave  up  the  stamped  papers,  which  were  conveyed  to 
the  City  Hall  and  there  deposited  under  the  safe-keep- 
ing of  the  mayor  of  the  city. 

§  1*20.   Captain  Sears  and  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty.'*'' 

These  tumultuous  proceedings  were  instigated  and 
led  on,  in  a  great  measure,  by  Captain  Isaac  Sears, 
who  had  been  the  commander  of  a  merchant  ship,  and 
subsequently  of  a  privateer.  His  influence  with  the 
middle  and  lower  classes  was  almost  unbounded;  which, 
together  with  his  wealth  and  power  of  intrigue,  made 
him  formidable  to  the  ruling  party.  To  gain  his 
favor  for  the  government  he  was  made  an  inspector  of 
pot-ashes — an  office  of  some  consideration  in  the  city. 
But  he  could  not  thus  be  bought  off  from  his  old  asso- 
ciations and  his  love  of  liberty.  He  was  of  a  rough  and 
burly  temper,  fond  of  excitement,  and  had  a  most  in- 
tense dislike  of  the  effeminacy  and  rapacity  of  the 
o'overnment  officials.  Such  a  man  was  of  course  ad- 
mirably  fitted  to  become  a  popular  favorite  and  leader 
in  such  stormy  times  as  these. 

An  association  of  the  friends  of  popular  rights  was , 
formed  about  this  time,  called  "Sons  of  Liberty,"  but 
more  familiarly  styled  "  Liberty  Boys,'^  of  which  Sears 
was  the  leading  spirit.  The  members  of  this  associa- 
tion were  perpetually  on  the  alert  for  any  occasions 
of  danger  to  the  popular  cause,  nor  were  they  over- 
scrupulous as  to  the  means  to  be  used  either  for  pre- 
vention or  cure.  Yet  they  rendered  most  valuable 
service  to  the  cause  of  American  independence  by  their 


124  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

determined  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  the  British 
rulers.  The  emblem  of  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty  "  was  a 
mast,  or  pole,  erected  "  in  the  fields,^'  near  the  foot  of 
the  Park.  This  mast  was  styled  the  "  Liberty-Pole," 
and  it  was  the  progenitor  of  the  numberless  repre- 
sentatives of  the  same  family  to  be  found  in  every 
part  of  the  American  republic. 

^  121.   Organized  resistance  to  the  law. 

The  proceedings  thus  far  had  been  carried  on  by 
the  inferior  classes  of  the  people,  headed  by  Captain 
Sears.     The  wealthier  classes  of  the  inhabitants  met 
the  next  day  and  appointed  a  committee  of  five  per- 
sons, of  whom  Sears  was  one,  to  correspond  with  the 
other  colonies.     This   committee   soon   after   recom- 
mended an  agreement  among  all  the  colonies  to  im- 
port no  more  goods  from  Great  Britain  till  the  stamp- 
act  should  be  repealed.     This  non-importation"  agree- 
ment, to  which  a  non-consumption  covenant  was  pres- 
ently added,  was   numerously  signed  in  New -York, 
Boston,  and  Philadelphia.    Public  business,  which  had 
been  suspended  for  a  while  for  the  want  of  stamped 
paper,  presently  began  to  be  transacted  without  it ; 
and  even  the  courts  of  justice  were  at  length  com- 
pelled to  come  into  the  same  measure,  and,  by  disre- 
garding the  demands  of  the  Stamp-act,  to  aid  in  nulli- 
fying it.     Thus  the  triumph  of  the  popular  cause  was 
complete,  and  things  moved  on  again  in  their  usual 
q^uiet  and  good  order. 

^  122.  Repeal  of  the  Stamp-act. 

The  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp-act,  by  the 
British  Parliament,  was  celebrated  at  New -York  with 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  125 

the  liveliest  demonstrations  of  joy.  Confidence  seemed 
to  spring  up  anew  among  tlie  colonists  toward  the 
mother  country,  and  all  tlieir  loyalty  to  return  upon 
them.  A  leaden  equestrian  statue  of  the  king  was 
ordered  to  be  set  up  in  the  Bowling-green,  and  a  full- 
length  marble  statue  of  Pitt  was  placed  at  the  corner 
of  Wall  and  William-streets.  The  sufferers  by  the 
late  riots  were  indemnified  for  their  losses,  but  no 
blame  was  cast  upon  the  rioters, — an  evident  indica- 
tion of  the  state  of  public  sentiment  in  the  matter. 

But  this  season  of  good  feeling  was  of  but  short  du- 
ration ;  a  new  cause  of  irritation  soon  occurred.  The 
policy  adopted  by  the  home-government  toward  the 
colonies  induced  a  large  increase  of  the  military  force 
in  the  chief  towns  in  America.  The  several  colonial 
assemblies  were  required  to  provide  quarters  for  the 
troops  that  might  be  sent  among  them.  With  this 
demand  the  New -York  Assembly  refused  to  comply, 
and  in  retaliation  the  assembly  were  prohibited  from 
legislating  on  any  other  subject  till  they  had  complied 
with  the  requirements  of  the  quartering  act.  This 
failing  of  its  object,  the  governor  dissolved  the  assem- 
bly, and  a  new  one,  still  more  refractory,  was  chosen 
in  its  stead,  which  also  was  soon  after  dissolved. 

§  123.  New  difficulties  with  the  mother  country. 

This  contest  was  continued  through  two  years  with 
varied  success.  Many  of  the  wealthier  citizens,  espe- 
cially those  belonging  to  the  Church  of  England, 
alarmed  at  the  evident  tendency  of  things,  at  length 
began  to  relax  in  their  opposition.  At  the  next  elec- 
tion for  an  assembly  the  moderate  party  made  a  great 
effort,  and  was  successful.     In  the  city  of  New -York, 


126  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

Philip  Livingston,  a  leading  member  in  the  two  for- 
mer assemblies,  was  defeated,  and  his  friends  were 
found  in  the  minority  in  the  new  assembly.  The  point 
so  fiercely  contested  hitherto  was  now  yielded,  and  the 
required  quarters  provided  for  the  royal  troops. 

This  humiliating  concession  drew  from  Alexander 
M'Dougald,  a  leading  spirit  among  the  "  Sons  of  Lib- 
erty," and  afterward  a  major-general  in  the  American 
army,  an  indignant  "  Address  to  the  Betrayed  Lihab- 
itants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of  New -York,"  calling 
a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  to  take  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  assembly  into  consideration.  The  assem- 
bly pronounced  this  address  "  a  false,  seditious,  and 
infamous  libel,"  and  committed  its  author  to  prison, 
by  which  they  at  once  increased  the  suspicion  of  their 
own  lukewarmness  in  the  popular  cause,  and  rendered 
M^Dougald  a  martyr,  and  sent  multitudes  to  visit 
him  in  his  confinement.  The  soldiers  revenged  the 
cause  of  the  assembly  by  cutting  down  the  liberty- 
pole,  which  the  patriots  had  erected  at  a  place  of 
popular  rendezvous.  The  populace  retorted  the  in- 
sult, and  brawls  became  frequent  between  the  inhab- 
itants and  the  soldiers. 

§  124.   Continued  growth  of  the  city. 

These  political  agitations  did  not  at  once  put  a  full 
stop  to  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  city,  nor  en- 
tirely suspend  its  advancement.  New  streets  contin- 
ued to  be  laid  out  and  opened,  and  public  improvements 
continued  to  be  made  up  to  the  commencement  of 
hostilities.  Vandewater-street,  in  Beekman's  Swamp, 
was  first  regulated  in  1768;  AVarren-street  in  1771; 
and  in  1774  a  street  in  front  of  the  Common,  "  lead- 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  127 

ing  from  St.  Paul's  cliureli  toward  the  Fresh  Water," 
was  opened  and  named  after  the  popular  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham. Very  soon  after  this  all  improvements  in  the 
city  gave  place  to  the  wasting  desolations  of  war. 

§  125.  A  tea  party  and  an  anti-tea  party. 

xVs  the  difficulties  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country  increased,  New -York  became  fully 
compromised  in  them.  The  tea  tax,  so  famous  on  ac- 
count of  the  course  of  resistance  adopted  at  Boston, 
was  scarcely  less  decidedly  opposed  at  Kew-York. 
In  1773,  a  ship  belonging  to  the  East  India  Company 
was  sent  to  New -York  with  a  cargo  of  teas  consigned 
to  a  mercantile  house  in  that  city  ;  but,  at  the  demand 
of  a  popular  meeting,  the  consignees  refused  to  act  in 
the  business,  when  the  governor  ordered  it  to  be  stored 
in  the  barracks.  Tlie  vessel  was  compelled  by  stress 
of  weather  to  put  in  at  the  West  Indies,  and  so  did 
not  arrive  till  the  next  spring.  Then  the  pilots  at 
Sandy  Hook,  under  instructions  from  the  city  com- 
mittee, refused  to  bring  her  up,  and  a  "  Committee 
of  Vigilance  "  soon  after  took  possession  of  her,  by 
whom  she  was  brought  up  to  the  city,  but  was  soon 
after  ordered  back  again  to  Sandy  Hook.  Meanwhile 
another  ship,  commanded  by  a  New -York  captain, 
arrived,  purporting  to  have  no  tea  on  board,  and  ac- 
cordingly was  permitted  to  come  up  to  the  city ; 
but  when  it  was  afterward  ascertained  that  there 
were  eighteen  chests  on  board,  the  indignant  people 
seized  and  emptied  it  into  the  river.  A  few  days  af- 
ter, with  great  parade,  led  by  a  band  playing  the 
British  national  air,  while  the  bells  were  ringing  and 
the  flags  flying  from  the  liberty-pole  and  the  shipping, 


128  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

the  captain  of  the  East  India  tea  ship  was  escorted 
from  the  Custom-house  to  a  pilot  boat  which  took  him 
to  the  Hook,  where,  under  the  direction  of  the  *'  Com- 
mittee of  Vigilance,'^  the  anchors  were  weighed  and 
the  vessel  started  on  her  homeward  voyage. 

§  126.  A  general  congress  called. 

Hitherto  resistance  in  New -York  to  the  aggressions 
of  the  home-government  had  been  chiefly  managed 
by  the  committee  of  correspondence,  headed  by  Sears, 
and  by  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty '' — a  band  composed 
chiefly  of  persons  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes, 
among  whom  were  M^Dougald,  Willett  and  Lamb, 
and  upon  whose  discretion  the  more  wealthy  citizens 
did  not  place  the  fullest  reliance.  After  the  passage 
of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  a  public  meeting  was  called, 
at  which  the  old  committee  was  dissolved  and  a  new 
one  chosen,  consisting  of  fifty-one  members,  compris- 
ing some  of  the  principal  citizens.  This  committee, 
soon  after,  in  a  circular  letter,  proposed  "  a  congress 
of  deputies  from  all  the  colonies,''  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  state  of  public  aflPairs  of  common  inter- 
est. The  meeting  of  the  proposed  congress  having 
been  fixed  for  the  first  of  September,  and  the  provin- 
cial assembly  refusing  to  send  delegates,  the  appoint- 
ment of  deputies  was  undertaken  by  the  committee 
of  fifty-one,  assisted  by  a  committee  of  mechanics. 
Some  difliculty  occurred  between  the  supporters  of 
M'Dougald,  the  candidate  of  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty," 
and  the  friends  of  John  Jay,  a  young  lawyer  of  a 
rising  reputation,  who  was  supported  by  the  upper 
classes.  A  poll  was  therefore  opened  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  mayor  and  aldermen,  at  which  all 


DURINlJ  THE  REVOLUTION.  129 

tax-payers  were  allowed  to  vote.  Livingston,  Alsop, 
Law,  Duane  and  Jay,  tlie  candidates  of  tlie  more 
moderate  party,  were  chosen,  and  the  nominations 
thus  made  were  confirmed  and  ratified  in  other  parts 
of  the  province.  A  second  congress  having  been 
called  for  the  next  year,  (1775,)  to  which  also  the 
assembly  refused  to  appoint  delegates,  a  warm  con- 
test took  place  among  the  citizens,  not  wholly  without 
violence,  in  an  election  for  deputies  to  a  provincial 
congress  by  which  the  delegates  were  to  be  appointed, 
in  which  the  popular  and  more  violent  party  were  suc- 
cessful. This  was  the  first  open  rupture  between  the 
political  parties  in  the  city ;  afterward  the  breach 
continued  to  widen,  till  it  ended  in  an  open  rupture 
and  sanguinary  conflict. 

§  127.  First  provincial  congress. 

The  provincial  congress  of  New -York  met  accord- 
ingly in  May,  and  was  presided  over  by  Nathaniel 
WoodhuU,  subsequently  the  hero  of  Long  Island. 
Measures  were  adopted  for  putting  the  province  in  a 
state  of  defense,  by  enlisting  troops  and  erecting  for- 
tifications, especially  on  Manhattan  Island  and  the 
western  extremity  of  Long  Island.  The  congress 
also  invited  Wooster,  with  his  Connecticut  regiment, 
to  assist  in  defending  the  city  against  the  expected 
British  troops,  who  accordingly  came  soon  after  with 
a  thousand  men.  An  encampment  was  formed  by 
them  at  Harlem,  and  troops  also  were  stationed  on 
Long  Island  to  guard  against  a  surprise  from  that 
direction.  The  province  of  New -York,  and  especially 
the  city,  began  now  to  assume  a  decidedly  warlike 
attitude  and  appearance. 

6^* 


130  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

§  128.   Trouble  ivith  a  British  man-of-ivar. 
The  Asia  man-of-war  and  several  smaller  vessels 
were  all  tliis  time  lying  in  tlie  harbor,  closely  watch- 
ing all  that  was  going  forward  on  shore.     At  length 
an  opportunity  occurred  for  those  on  hoard  to  display 
their  hostility  to  the  popular  cause.     On  the  evening 
of  the  22d  of  August,  Capt.  Sears  was  sent  with  a 
detachment  of  militia  to  remove  some  guns  that  lay 
near  the  fort  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  city. 
For  some  cause  several  shots  were  fired  at  one  of  the 
Asians  boats  that  lay  not  far  off,  which  was  presently 
answered  by  a  broadside  from  the  ship,  killing  three 
of  Sears's  men,  and  throwing  the  whole  city  into  great 
consternation.     Among  those  engaged  in  this  affair 
was  Alexander  Hamilton,  a  youth  of  eighteen,  who 
had  been  for  two  years  past  a  student  in  King's  Col- 
lege,  and   had   already   made    himself   conspicuous 
among  the  patriots  by  certain  able  newspaper  essays 
in  behalf  of  popular  liberty.     He  was  soon  after, 
through  the  favor  of  M'Dougald,  appointed  a  captain 
of  artillery,  from  which  point  his  history  is  identified 
with  that  of  the  country. 

§  129.  Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  Safety. 
The  Committee  of  Safety,  appointed  by  the  late 
provincial  congress,  now  proceeded  to  disarm  the  loy- 
alists on  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island — which,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  a  rather  difficult  task.  A  parti- 
san warfare  was  thus  commenced,  arraying  neighbor 
against  neighbor,  and  not  unfrequently  dividing  the 
nearest  relations.  Governor  Tryon  soon  found  him- 
self in  uncomfortable  circumstances  on  account  of  his 
opposition  to  the  popular  cause,  and,  to  escape  personal 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  131 

inconvenience,  retired  on  board  of  the  Asia.     But  the 
action  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  was  not  vigorous, 
and  the  governor  had  a  strong  party  in  the  city  and 
its  vicinity,  with  whom  he  managed  to  keep  up  a  cor- 
respondence.    Kivington's  Gazette,  the  government 
paper  in  New -York,  continued  to  be  issued,  and  was 
a  great  annoyance  to   the  patriots.     The  publisher 
had  been  several  times  called  to  account,  and  had 
promised  to  use  less  freedom  in  his  strictures,  but  at 
length  he  became  more  offensive  than  ever.     The 
Committee  of  Safety,  however,  still  refused  to  inter- 
fere in  the  matter.     Accordingly,  Sears,  on  behalf 
of  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,''  having  mustered  a  troop 
of  light-horse  in  Connecticut,  entered  New -York  at 
noon  and  drew  up  in  front  of  Eivington's  office,  and, 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  people,  broke  up  the  press  and 
carried  off  the  types.     Troops  soon  began  to  concen- 
trate in  New -York.     A  body  of  Connecticut  volun- 
teers, obtained  through  Sears's  agency,  was  ordered 
into  the  city,  and  General  Lee  was  presently  sent 
thither  by  Washington  to  take  the  command ;  and 
Colonel  Howe's  regiment  of  New-Jersey  minute-men 
and  a  body  of  Sterling's  regulars  were  sent  to  disarm 
the  tories  on  Long  Island,  and  to  arrest  some  of  the 
principal  delinquents. 

§  130.  Plot  against  the  person  of  Washington. 

Though  there  was  so  strong  and  active  a  party  in 
New -York  in  favor  of  the  popular  cause,  yet  in  no 
part  of  the  country  were  the  royalists  more  numerous 
or  more  influential  than  in  that  city  and  its  vicinity. 
For  that  reason,  as  well  as  because  of  its  fitness  as  a 
central  point  for  military  operation,  it  was  expected 


132  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

that  the  enemy  when  driven  out  of  Boston  would  di- 
rect their  main  efforts  to  that  city.  Accordingly,  in 
the  spring  of  1776,  Washington  assumed  the  com- 
mand of  that  city  in  person,  and  immediately  issued 
a  proclamation  forbidding  all  intercourse  with  the 
enemy's  shipping.  But  to  enforce  such  a  regulation 
was  no  easy  matter.  Even  the  mayor  of  the  city  was 
detected  in  a  correspondence  with  the  governor,  and 
was  accordingly  thrown  into  prison.  A  plot  was  also 
detected  for  seizing  the  person  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  and  conveying  him  on  board  one  of  the  British 
ships — a  scheme  that  had  advanced  somewhat  through 
the  perfidy  of  some  of  Washington's  soldiers,  one  of 
whom  was  shot  for  his  participation  in  this  affair. 
Washington's  whole  disposable  force  at  this  time 
numbered  only  about  eight  thousand  men,  very  im- 
perfectly equipped  and  poorly  provided.  An  addi- 
tional force  of  thirteen  thousand  militia  had  also 
been  ordered  to  rendezvous  in  the  city. 

§  131.  Declaration  of  Independence. 

About  this  time  the  Continental  Congress,  assem- 
bled at  Philadelphia,  declared  the  united  colonies  free, 
and  independent  of  the  mother  country.  The  news 
of  this  proclamation  was  received  with  many  demon- 
strations of  joy  by  the  populace  of  New -York.  The 
portrait  of  King  George  that  had  decorated  the  City 
Hall  was  destroyed,  and  the  leaden  statue  in  the 
Bowling-Green  was  thrown  down  and  run  into  bullets. 
The  joy,  however,  was  far  from  being  universal.  A 
large  portion  of  the  wealthier  citizens  looked  on  with 
distrust,  and  the  Episcopal  clergy  showed  their  dis- 
satisfaction by  shutting  up  their  churches.     It  was 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  133 

now  no  longer  possible  for  men  to  avoid  a  choice  be- 
tween the  two  parties,  and  accordingly  some  who  had 
hitherto  favored  the  popular  cause  drew  back  from 
the  extreme  measures  now  adopted  by  that  party ; 
while  others  who  had  avoided  a  decision  and  remained 
neutral,  wlien  compelled  to  choose  between  the  parties, 
became  decided  and  active  friends  of  the  new  govern- 
ment.    The  declaration  was  highly  favorable  to  the 
friends  of  liberty  in  New -York,  as  their  covert  enemies 
were  thus  forced  to  show  themselves,  and  their  friends 
being  known,  became  more  decided  and  energetic  in 
their  efforts  for  the  rights  of  the  people. 

§  132.  Defenses  of  New -York  City. 

While  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  expected  rein- 
forcements, Washington  was  not  inactive.     Obstruc- 
tions were  sunk  in  the  North  and  East  Eivers,  and 
fortifications  erected  to  guard  the  narrowest  passages. 
Fort  Washington,  at  the  north  end  of   Manhattan 
Island,  and  Fort  Lee,  on  the  opposite  Jersey  shore, 
were  the  strongest  of  these  works.     The  fort  at  the 
southern  point  of  the  city  was  strengthened  and  put 
in  order,  and  an  additional  battery  placed  in  Broad- 
way, above  the  Bowling-Green.     M'Dougald's  battery 
was  erected   on    an   eminence,   just   behind  Trinity 
church.     There  was  also  a  battery  at  the  ship-yards 
near  the  foot  of  Maiden-lane,  and  another  at  Corlaer's 
Hook.      Governor's  Island  had  been  occupied  by  a 
thousand  continental  troops  since  April,  by  whom  it 
was  fortified  ;  a  battery  was  also  erected  at  Red  Hook, 
at  the  western  extremity  of  Long  Island.     In  Brook- 
lyn, a  chain  of  breast-works  and  small  fortifications 
extended  from  the  Wallabout  (now  the  Navy- Yard)  to 


134  CITY  OE  NEW-YOKK 

Eed  Hook;  and  in  the  city  were  defenses  at  every 
vulnerable  point,  and  most  of  the  streets  were  barri- 
caded. But  the  disposable  force  in  the  city  was  quite 
inadequate  to  defend  so  large  an  extent  of  exposed 
front  as  New -York  presented. 

§  138.  The  inhabitants  leave  the  city. 

The  warlike  aspect  of  affairs  drove  a  large  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  from  the  city.  Women  and  chil- 
dren became  very  scarce,  and  very  few  of  either  were 
seen  in  the  streets.  Many  dwellings  were  shut  up, 
their  owners  having  fled  from  the  city ;  and  when  the 
soldiers  entered,  they  broke  open  the  abandoned  houses 
and  quartered  themselves  in  them. 

§  134.  Battle  of  Long  Island. 

About  the  last  of  June  a  British  fleet  appeared  off 
Sandy  Hook  with  the  army  of  General  Howe,  from 
Boston,  which  entered  the  harbor  and  disembarked  the 
troojDS,  without  opposition,  on  Staten  Island.  Soon 
after,  another  British  fleet,  commanded  by  Admiral 
Lord  Howe,  brother  to  the  general,  arrived  from  En- 
gland, with  a  strong  reinforcement.  The  invading 
army,  thus  strengthened,  amounted  to  twenty-five 
thousand  men.  The  fleet  proceeded  up  before  the 
city  without  opposition,  and  was  but  slightly  delayed 
by  the  obstructions  that  had  been  placed  in  its  way. 
A  plan  of  attack  by  way  of  Brooklyn  was  at  length 
determined  on.  On  the  27th  of  August  the  whole 
British  force  was  put  in  motion.  Having  landed  on 
Long  Island,  a  few  miles  below  the  city,  after  a  good 
deal  of  irregular  skirmishing  and  some  severe  fight- 
ing, in  which  the  Americans  were  defeated  at  every 


DURING  THE  REVULUTIUN.  135 

|X)int,  the  enemy  halted  for  the  night  in  front  of  the 
works  on  the  high  grounds  of  Brooklyn.  During  that 
night,  under  cover  of  a  heavy  fog,  the  whole  Ameri- 
can force  was  transported  across  the*  East  Eiver ;  a 
part  of  them  was  then  posted  in  the  city,  and  the  rest, 
comprising  the  greater  portion,  were  encamped  at 
Harlem  Heights.  In  anticipation  of  a  still  farther 
retreat,  the  surplus  haggage  and  military  stores  were 
sent  beyond  the  Harlem  Eiver,  where  also  Washing- 
ton's headquarters  were  established.  On  the  loth  of 
September  the  British  effected  a  landing  at  Kip's 
Bay,  when  the  city  was  evacuated  by  the  Americans, 
and  given  up  to  the  enemy  ;  and  from  that  time  New- 
York  became  the  center  of  operations  of  the  British 
army  in  America.  With  the  American  army  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  remaining  inhabitants  left  the 
city ;  so  that  during  the  whole  period  of  British  mili- 
tary rule  in  New -York  the  local  population  is  thought 
not  to  have  exceeded  ten  thousand. 

§  135.   Great  fire  in  New  -York. 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  New -York  by  the 
British,  on  the  night  of  the  21st  of  September,  a  fire 
broke  out  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  which  burned 
on  almost  without  resistance  during  the  entire  night 
and  part  of  the  next  day,  and  reduced  a  large  portion 
of  the  city  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  It  commenced  late  at 
night  in  a  small  wooden  house  kept  as  a  place  of 
revelry  and  debauchery  on  the  wharf,  near  Whitehall- 
slip.  The  panic  among  the  inhabitants  on  account  of 
the  capture  of  the  city  prevented  any  adequate  efforts 
to  extinguish  the  fire,  or  to  hinder  it  from  spreading. 
The  wind  was  blowing  from  the  south-west;  so  that 


136  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

the  flames  were  carried  up  the  slip,  and  soon  the  whole 
space  between  Whitehall  and  Broad-streets,  as  far  up 
as  Beaver-street,  was  a  continuous  field  of  fire.  At 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  wind  changed  to 
south-east,  and  carried  the  fire  toward  Broadway.  It 
burned  both  sides  of  Beaver-street  to  Broadway,  and 
both  sides  of  Broadway  as  far  up  as  Eector-street, 
where  its  farther  progress  on  the  east  side  was  checked 
by  a  large  three-story  brick  house.  On  the  west  side 
it  continued  up  to  Trinity  church,  burning  both  that 
church  and  the  Lutheran  church  a  little  farther 
down.  All  the  houses  on  Lumber-street,  as  far  up  as 
St.  Paul's  church,  were  destroyed,  and  on  both  sides 
of  Partition  (Fulton,  west  of  Broadway)  street,  and  the 
whole  range  of  compact  buildings  from  Broadway  to 
the  river.  It  did  not  finally  stop  till  it  reached  Mort 
Kile  (Barclay)  street,  where  the  college-yard  and 
vacant  grounds  adjoining  put  an  end  to  its  destructive 
progress.  The  isolated  condition  of  Trinity  church 
seemed  to  promise  its  safety  in  the  general  ruin ;  but 
the  southerly  wind  threw  large  flakes  of  fire  upon  its 
wooden  roof,  which,  on  account  of  its  steepness  could 
not  be  guarded,  and  consequently  it  took  fire,  and  so 
the  whole  edifice  was  consumed.  St.  Paul's  church 
was  several  times  on  fire,  but  the  roof  being  flat,  with 
balustrades  at  the  eaves,  a  number  of  persons  were 
stationed  upon  it  to  extinguish  the  burning  cinders 
as  they  fell.  The  whole  member  of  houses  burned 
amounted  to  about  five  hundred,  or  more  than  an 
eighth  part  of  the  entire  city,  as  to  numbers ;  but  a 
much  greater  proportion  as  to  their  value,  as  they 
composed  the  best  part  of  the  city. 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  137 

^  136.  American  prisoners  brought  to  New  -York. 
The  history  of  New -York  while  occupied  by  the 
British  army  presents  a  sad  view  of  the  dark  side  of 
"  glorious  war.'^     Though  there  was  no  more  fighting 
in  or  about  the  city,  after  the  capture,  the  horrors  of 
war  were  there  experienced  in  their  most  dreadful 
forms.     At  the  battle  on  Long  Island  nearly  a  thou- 
sand American  prisoners  were  taken  by  the  British ; 
and  in  the  reduction  of  Forts  Washingtcm  and  Lee, 
and  in  several  other  battles  fought  about  this  time, 
not  less  than  three  thousand  more  were  taken.    Many 
private  citizens  were  likewise  arrested  for  having  been 
engaged  in  revolutionary  movements  ;  so  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  following  winter  there  could  not 
have  been  less  than  five  thousand  prisoners,  for  whose 
safe-keeping   Sir  William  Howe  was  called  upon  to 
provide.     The  sudden  influx  of  so  great  a  body  of 
prisoners  at  that  season  of  the  year,  together  with  the 
late  conflagration  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  city,  oc- 
casioned much  distress,  which  could  not  have  been 
altogether  avoided  by  the  utmost  reach  of  kindness. 
But,  to  the  lasting  infamy  of  the  parties  concerned,  as 
well  as  in  illustration  of  the  horrid  accompaniments 
of  war,  the  truth  must  be  confessed,  that  the  neces- 
sarily wretched  condition  of  the  prisoners  was  rendered 
much  worse  than  was  necessary  by  the  wanton  and 
malicious  cruelty  of  those  who  had  the  care  of  them. 

§  137.  Provost  Marshal  Cunningham. 

The  oversight  of  the  prisoners  was  committed  by 
the  commanding  general  to  the  provost  marshal,  one 
William  Cunningham,  the  son  of  a  British  soldier,  who 


138  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

was  himself  brought  up  in  the  army,  hut  had  heen 
subsequently  engaged  in  certain  discreditable  agencies 
connected  with  forwarded  emigrants  to  America.  Just 
before  the  commencement  of  hostilities  he  had  come 
to  New -York,  where  he  became  involved  in  a  personal 
difficulty  with  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,'^  to  escape  from 
which  he  fled  to  Boston,  where  he  was  advanced  by 
General  Gage  to  the  rank  of  provost  marshal ;  and 
now,  after  the  capture  of  the  city,  he  had  come  into  a 
position  that  enabled  him  to  wreak  his  vengeance  to 
satiety  upon  the  party  of  his  former  enemies — an  op- 
portunity that  he  did  not  fail  to  improve.  The  tale 
of  the  cruelties  of  this  monster  of  iniquity  almost  ex- 
ceed belief;  and  the  fact  that  such  enormities  were 
practiced  in  their  presence,  and  were  allowed,  reflects 
great  dishonor  upon  the  commandants  of  the  British 
army  in  New -York.  A  sentiment  indeed  prevailed  to 
a  great  extent  among  the  royal  party  that  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  rebels,  had  forfeited  all  rights,  and  were  just- 
ly liable  to  the  worst  and  severest  of  treatment — a 
sentiment  noticed  by  Washington  in  his  correspond- 
ence with  General  Howe,  and  against  which  he  makes 
a  most  earnest  protest. 

§  138.   Crowded  state  of  the  prisons. 

The  prisons  and  public  buildings  were  immediately 
crowded  to  their  utmost  capacity  with  these  unhappy 
captives.  Into  the  new  bridewell,  which  stood  on 
Broadway,  to  the  west  of  the  site  of  the  present  City 
Hall,  over  eight  hundred  were  crowded,  where,  during 
the  entire  winter,  they  were  allowed  no  fire,  and  the 
windows  were  without  glass  or  shutters,  and  the  rations 
dealt  out  for  three  davs  were  less  than  a  man  could 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  139 

eat  at  a  single  meal.  The  new  jail,  or  "  provost," 
(now  the  Hall  of  Records,)  was  a  prison  for  American 
officers,  and  the  more  distinguished  rebels,  whether 
civil  or  military.  Here  the  provost  marshal  kept  his 
quarters,  and  exercised  his  tyranny  upon  his  unhappy 
victims  with  more  than  a  Nero's  cruelty.  The  prison- 
ers were  crowded  together  so  closely,  that  at  night  it 
was  almost  impossible  for  all  to  lie  upon  the  floor  at 
once.  Here,  during  the  seven  years  of  Cunningham's 
reign  of  terror,  were  incarcerated  many  distinguished 
American  officers,  suffering  all  manner  of  insult  and 
privation,  while  tliey  awaited  the  time  of  their  liber- 
ation, which  death,  often  swifter  than  any  human  help, 
not  unfrcquently  brought  to  them.  The  old  City  Hall, 
which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Custom-house, 
was  converted  into  a  guard-house  for  the  main  guard 
of  the  city.  It  had  dungeons  and  prisons  below,  and 
a  court-room  on  the  second  floor,  where  the  refugee 
clergy  preached  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war. 
At  first  civil  offenders  were  confined  here,  but  subse- 
quently whale-boatmen  and  robbers. 

§  139.   The  Sugar-House,  etc. 

But  these  ordinary  places  of  confinement  were  en- 
tirely insufficient  to  contain  all  the  prisoners ;  and, 
accordingly,  several  of  the  churches,  and  other  large 
buildings,  were  appropriated  to  that  purpose.  Among 
these  temporary  prisons  the  Sugar-House  obtained  a 
terrible  notoriety.  This  modern  bastile  stood  on 
Liberty-street,  near  the  Middle  Dutch  church,  a  dark 
stone  building,  five  stories  high,  with  small,  deep,  port- 
hole-looking windows,  rising  tier  above  tier,  exhibit- 
ing  a   dungeon-like  aspect.     There  was   a   passage 


140  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

quite  round  the  outside  of  the  building,  which  was 
inclosed  by  a  close  board  fence  nine  feet  high,  in  which, 
night  and  day,  two  British  or  Hessian  soldiers  walked 
their  weary  rounds.  In  the  suffocating  heat  of  sum- 
mer might  be  seen  every  aperture  of  those  stone  walls 
filled  with  human  heads,  face  above  face,  seeking  a 
portion  of  the  external  air.  While  the  jail-fever  was 
raging  in  the  summer  of  1777,  the  prisoners  were  let 
out  in  companies  of  twenty,  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time, 
to  breathe  the  fresh  air;  and  those  within  divided 
themselves  into  companies,  and  thus  took  their  turns 
of  ten  minutes  each  at  the  windows.  For  some  weeks 
the  daily  mortality  amounted  to  ten  or  twelve.  The 
bodies  were  thrown  into  the  dead-cart  and  conveyed 
to  a  trench  kept  constantly  open,  above  the  Jews' 
burying-ground,  where  they  were  buried  in  heaps, 
without  care  or  ceremony. 

§  140.    Churches  turned  into  prisons. 

The  North  Dutch  church,  at  the  corner  of  William 
and  Fulton-streets,  was  made  to  hold  eight  hundred 
prisoners  ;  its  pews  were  ripped  up,  and  its  mahogany 
pulpit  sent  to  London,  and  put  in  a  chapel  there  ;  and 
a  floor  was  laid  across  from  gallery  to  gallery.  The 
Middle  Dutch  church  was  also,  at  first,  used  as  a 
prison,  but  was  afterward  appropriated  to  the  use  of 
the  master-of-horse  to  be  occupied  as  a  riding-school, 
to  train  dragoon  horses.  The  floor  was  taken  up  and 
the  ground  covered  with  tan-bark,  and  a  pole  run 
across  the  middle  for  the  horses  to  leap  over.  These 
churches  both  remained  in  their  ruinous  condition  till 
after  the  restoration  of  peace.  The  Brick  church  in 
Beekman-street  was  at  first  a  prison  also ;  but  soon 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  141 

after,  it  and  the  Presbyterian  cliurch  in  AVall-street, 
and  the  Scotch  church  in  Cedar-street,  and  the  Friends' 
meeting-house,  were  converted  into  hospitals.  The 
French  church  in  Pine-street  was  a  store-house  for 
ordnance  stores ;  King's  College  was  also  used  for  a 
prison  a  short  time  after  the  capture  of  the  city.  The 
only  houses  of  worship  that  were  not  defaced  and  des- 
ecrated during  the  season  of  the  city's  captivity  were 
the  two  Episcopal  churches,  St.  Paul's  and  St.  George's, 
which,  as  belonging  4o  the  English  Establishment, 
were  accounted  sacred ;  and  the  Methodist  church  in 
John-street,  which  was  also  preserved  out  of  respect 
to  the  known  loyalty  of  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  English 
Methodists  ;  and  the  German  Lutheran  church  in  the 
Swamp,  which  was  used  by  the  Hessian  mercenaries 
as  a  place  of  worship. 

§  141.    The  prison-ships. 

But  the  worst  tales  of  the  horrors  of  the  captivity 
of  the  unhappy  Americans,  in  New -York,  came  from 
the  prison-ships.  For  want  of  other  places  for  con- 
finement, the  prisoners  were  placed  on  board  of  a  num- 
ber of  ships  then  lying  in  the  harbor*  of  New- York. 
Among  these,  the  Jersey,  the  Falmouth,  the  Digby, 
and  the  Good  Hope,  have  held  the  chief  notoriety. 
The  Jersey  was  a  large  and  roomy  vessel,  having 
once  mounted  sixty-four  guns,  but  was  now  stripped 
and  reduced  to  a  naked  hulk.  All  her  ports  were 
close  shut,^hich  prevented  any  current  of  air  between 
decks,  where  all  the  prisoners  were  shut  down  from 
sunset  to  sunrise.  She  was  anchored  in  the  Wallabout 
Bay,  where,  for  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  re- 
turn of  peace,  her  remains  might  still  be  seen.     At 


142  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

times  there  were  more  than  a  thousand  prisoners  at 
once  on  board  of  her,  without  berths  or  benches,  and 
almost  without  clothes.  Dysentery,  fever,  pleurisy, 
and  despair  prevailed.  Their  provisions  were  scanty 
and  of  very  bad  quality,  the  guards  were  brutally 
cruel;  so  that  the  well  often  fell  sick,  and  the  sick 
pined  without  the  most  necessary  comforts,  and  a  ter- 
rible mortality  prevailed.  The  number  of  deaths  that 
occurred  during  the  war  in  the  prisons  and  prison- 
ships,  can  never  be  ascerfcained^ivith  any  credible  cer- 
tainty. That  of  the  prison-ships  alone  has  been  set 
down  at  eleven  thousand  five  hundred ;  but  this  is  not 
only  entirely  conjectural,  but  far  exceeds  any  reason- 
able probability.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  hor- 
rors of  those  places  were  such  as  to  utterly  defy  the 
power  of  language,  and  even  the  utmost  stretch  of  the 
imagination.  The  whole  affair  is  a  black  stigma  upon 
the  name  of  Great  Britain,  and  a  lively  exhibition  of 
the  true  character  of  war. 

§  142.   The  evacuation. 

As  New -York  was  the  first  point  permanently  oc- 
cupied by  the  hostile  British  army,  so  it  was  the  last 
that  was  abandoned  by  it.  As  place  after  place  was 
yielded  by  the  retiring  army,  the  royal  forces  became 
concentrated  in  this  city.  Here,  after  the  peace  was 
concluded,  were  found  a  large  number  of  provincial 
loyalists,  who,  having  borne  arms  against  the  Ameri- 
can government,  or  in  other  ways  manifested  a  sym- 
pathy with  the  British  cause,  could  not  now  safely  re- 
turn to  their  former  homes,  nor  remain  in  any  part 
of  the  country.  There  was  also  a  large  body  of 
iregroes,  who  had  been  drawn  to  the  British  standard 


DURING  THE  REVOLUTION.  143 

by  the  promise  of  freedom ;  for  both  of  which  classes 
provision  had  to  be  made  before  the  city  could  be  sur- 
rendered to  the  American  forces.  The  tories  and 
negroes  were  at  length  sent  to  Nova  Scotia ;  the 
troops  embarked  on  board  of  British  transport  ships, 
and  everything  made  ready  for  an  evacuation.  At 
last,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1783,  all  the  arrange- 
ments having  been  fully  made,  the  British  command- 
ant surrendered  the  city  to  Brigadier  General  Knox, 
who  took  possession  of  it  early  in  the  morning  with  a 
small  detachment  of  American  soldiers.  In  the  course 
of  the  day  General  Washington  and  his  staff,  Governor 
Clinton  and  his  suite,  the  lieutenant-governor  and 
senators,  the  officers  of  the  army,  and  a  great  body 
of  citizens  on  horseback,  eight  abreast,  followed  by  a 
long  procession  of  citizens  on  foot,  entered  the  city  by 
the  way  of  the  Boston  road,  and  proceeded  through 
Pearl-street  to  the  Battery.  Some  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  hoisting  the  American  flag,  the  British 
soldiers  having  unrove  the  halliards  and  greased  the 
flagstaff.  A  public  dinner  was  given  to  Washington 
and  his  general  officers,  and  at  evening  a  splendid 
display  of  fireworks  was  made  from  the  Bowling- 
green. 

Thus  ended  the  war  of  the  American  Ee volution, 
and  thus  was  New -York  delivered  from  the  presence 
and  power  of  a  foreign  enemy,  by  whom  it  had  been 
trodden  down  and  laid  waste  for  seven  years. 


144  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW-YORK   AFTER  THE   WAR— 1783-1790. 

^  143.   The  city  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

When  the  city  of  New -York  was  first  freed  from  the 
presence  and  authority  of  a  foreign  military  power, 
under  whose  tyranny  it  had  suffered  for  more  than 
seven  years,  it  was  little  else  than  a  heap  of  ruins. 
During  this  period  nearly  all  kinds  of  industrial  occu- 
pations, both  private  and  public,  were  almost  wholly 
suspended.  Streets  that  were  laid  out  and  partially 
regulated  before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  had 
since  been  wholly  abandoned  and  thrown  out  to  the 
open  common.  The  wharves  had  been  permitted  to  go 
to  decay,  without  any  efforts  being  made  to  check  their 
ruin,  or  to  restore  them  when  so  decayed.  Both  pub- 
lic and  private  buildings  had  been  appropriated  to 
military  purposes,  and  of  course  had  been  greatly 
marred  and  defaced  by  such  use.  A  large  portion  of 
the  city  was  embraced  in  the  "  burnt  district,"  which 
had  been  laid  in  ruins  by  the  two  great  fires  that  oc- 
curred during  the  early  part  of  the  war ;  and  as  all 
other  parts  of  the  city  had  been  subjected  to  the  spoli- 
ation of  the  reckless  and  wanton  soldiery,  who  defaced 
whatever  they  touched,  and  wholly  neglected  to  repair 
any  breach  that  might  occur,  all  things  bore  the  marks 
of  dilapidation  and  ruin.  Those  long  and  painful 
years  of  its  captivity  had  reduced  New -York  to  little 
more  than  a  wreck  of  the  city  as  it  was  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war. 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  145 

§  144.  Aspects  of  the  town — ruins. 

The  appearance  of  the  town  at  the  time  of  its  res- 
toration to  liberty  and  peace  is  described  by  eye-wit- 
nesses as  the  most  desolate  and  gloomy  imaginable. 
A  few  sketches  selected  from  the  statements  of  such  a 
one  will  best  illustrate  this  subject.-'-  Beginning  at 
the  foot  of  Broadway,  there  stood  the  old  fort,  with  its 
dismounted  cannon  lying  under  the  walls,  over  which 
they  had  apparently  been  toppled  by  the  British  sol- 
diery, in  the  wantonness  or  haste  of  their  departure. 
In  the  Bowling-green  was  still  seen  the  pedestal  from 
which  the  leaden  image  of  George  the  Third  was  de- 
throned at  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  by  the  Continental  Congress.  Im- 
mediately above  this  point  began  the  "  burnt  district,'' 
extending  up  both  sides  of  Broadway  to'Kector-street, 
except  some  half-dozen  houses  left  standing  near  the 
Battery.  To  the  east  of  Broadway,  as  far  as  Broad- 
street  and  up  to  Beaver-street,  all  was  a  heap  of  ruins ; 
while  on  the  west  side  all  was  swept  away  except  St. 
Paul's  church,  and  a  few  buildings  beyond  the  com- 
pact part  of  the  city  as  it  was  at  that  time.  Opposite 
St.  Paul's  church  were  several  dwellings  of  the  better 
class.  From  this  point  the  fields  were  open  to  the 
north  as  far  as  a  line  ranging  eastwardly  from  War- 
ren-street, where  the  prospect  was  bounded  by  a  row 
of  more  useful  than  ornamental  public  buildings, — 
the  bridewell,  the  poor-house,  the  jail,  and  the  gallows. 
Toward  the  west  there  was  nothing  to  obstruct  the 
view  of  the  North  Eiver  but  a  few  low  houses  and  the 

'^  See  Address  of  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Duer  before  the  St.  Nicholas  So- 
ciety. 

7 


146  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

half- ruined  buildings  of  Columbia  College.  No  visible 
attempts  had  been  made  since  the  fire  to  remove  the 
ruins  ;  and,  as  many  of  the  edifices  destroyed  were  of 
brick,  the  skeletons  of  the  walls  cast  their  grim  shad- 
ows upon  the  pavements,  imparting  an  unearthly 
aspect  to  the  streets.  The  semi-circular  front  of 
Trinity  church  still  reared  its  ghastly  form,  and 
seemed  to  deepen  while  it  hallowed  the  solitude  of 
the  surrounding  graves. 

§  145.  Remnants  of  the  town. 

Turning  from  these  ruins,  Wall-street  presented 
some  of  the  aspects  of  a  living  city.  There  stood  the 
ruined  shell  of  the  old  Presbyterian  church.  At  the 
head  of  Broad-street  was  the  old  City  Hall,  in  all  its 
primitive  nakedness.  At  this  time,  and  until  it  was 
fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the  federal  government,  this 
building  stood  upon  brick  arches,  permitting  a  pas- 
sage from  street  to  street  underneath.  Above  Wall- 
street,  toward  the  Common,  lay  the  best  portion  of  the 
city,  the  residences  of  the  upper  classes — though  even 
upon  these  the  hand  of  the  destroyer  had  made  deep 
and  broad  impressions.  The  churches  were  ruined 
and  dilapidated  shells ;  the  shops  and  stores  were  few 
and  poorly  stocked ;  and  the  old  sugar-house,  no  longer 
vocal  with  groans  and  execrations,  frowned  dismally 
on  the  surrounding  desolation. 

Nor  was  the  ruin  of  the  material  city  greater  than 
that  of  its  social  institutions  and  pecuniary  resources. 
The  resident  population  was  less  by  more  than  one- 
half  than  before  the  war ;  though,  after  the  restora- 
tion of  peace,  many  of  the  exiled  families  returned  to 
their  former  habitations.    Commerce  was  almost  com- 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  '  147 

plctoly  annihilated,  and  all  industrial  pursuits  and 
social  and  religious  observances  greatly  depressed. 
The  municipal  government,  that  had  been  suspended 
during  the  period  of  the  city's  captivity,  was  presently 
reorganized,  and  began  to  restore  order  out  of  the 
existing  confusion.  The  revenues  of  the  city  were 
of  course  in  a  ruinous  condition,  as  neither  rents  nor 
taxes  had  been  collected  for  many  years.  The  old  land- 
marks were  in  many  cases  entirely  effaced,  and  often 
no  available  means  remained  for  determining  the 
boundaries  of  estates.  The  books  and  public  records 
had,  in  most  cases,  been  destroyed,  or  carried  off  by 
the  former  royal  officers,  civil* and  military.  The 
city  government  was  organized  according  to  its  old 
charter.  James  Duane  was  chosen  the  first  mayor — 
which  office  he  filled  for  six  successive  years.  Eichard 
Varick  was  appdlnted  recorder,  which  office  he  filled 
during  the  whole  of  Duane's  administration,  and  after- 
ward that  of  mayor  for  twelve  years,  or  until  1801. 
Rotation  in  office  was  less  a  favorite  doctrine  in  those 
times  than  at  present. 

§  146.  Restoration  of  the  churches. 

The  city  very  soon  began  to  give  indications  of  re- 
turning vitality.  The  defaced  and  ruined  public  and 
private  edifices  were  gradually  repaired,  and  presently 
the  "  burnt  district "  began  to  emerge  from  its  ashes 
and  rubbish.  The  "brick  meeting ''  in  Beekman- 
street  was  speedily  refitted,  and  dedicated  anew  to 
its  sacred  purposes.  The  Middle  and  North-Dutch 
churches  were  also  repaired  and  reoccupied  as  places 
of  worship  soon  after  the  return  of  peace.  St.  Peter's 
church,  in  Barclay-street,  the   first  Roman  Catholic 


148  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

church  ever  built  in  the  city,  was  erected  in  1785;  and 
two  years  later,  Trinity  church,  after  standing  a  fright- 
ful mass  of  ruins  for  more  than  ten  years,  was  re- 
built, and  also  made  the  metropolitan  church  of  the 
newly-organized  Protestant  Episcopal  denomination, 
for  the  diocese  of  New -York. 

§  147.  Regulation  of  streets. 

Among  the  early  acts  of  the  restored  municipal 
government  were  efforts  to  put  in  order  the  streets 
and  thoroughfares  of  the  city.  The  streets  had  be- 
come encumbered  with  vast  accumulations  of  rubbish, 
which  were  now  removed ;  the  old  half-filled  or  ill-fitted 
wells  and  pumps  were  cleaned  and  fitted  for  use.  The 
ferries,  which,  during  the  military  subjugation  of  the 
city,  had  been  subjected  to  the  surveillance  of  the 
army,  and,  at  the  evacuation  of  the'city,  were  wholly 
abandoned,  were  regulated  again,  and  leased  to  respon- 
sible persons;  streets  that  had  been  abandoned  were 
reclaimed  and  brought  into  use,  and,  a  few  years  after- 
ward, several  new  ones  added  to  the  map  of  the  city. 

Although  streets  leading  from  Broadway  to  the 
North  Eiver  had  been  laid  out,  before  the  war,  as  far 
up  as  Warren-street,  yet  none  above  Dey-street  had 
been  regulated  and  paved.  Those  beyond  were  but 
very  partially  built  upon,  and  the  few  buildings  found 
in  this  part  were  generally  of  an  inferior  description. 
Along  the  west  side  of  Broadway  was  a  high  ridge  of 
earth,  extending  down  to  the  neighborhood  of  Cort- 
landt-street,  through  which  none  of  the  projected 
streets  on  this  side  penetrated ;  and  indeed  Broadway 
itself  extended  properly  only  up  to  the  lower  point  of 
the  Common,  at  St.  Paul's  church. 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  149 

§  148.   Supply  of  pure  water. 

The  want  of  an  adequate  supply  of  pure  and  whole- 
some water  was  felt  and  confessed  at  that  early  period, 
and  the  subject  of  remedying  the  defect  was  frequently 
discussed  among  the  citizens  and  public  functionaries. 
Very  soon  after  the  return  of  peace,  a  plan  for  reme- 
dying this  acknowledged  defect  in  the  city's  provisions, 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  Samuel  Ogden :  but  the  city  was 
not  yet  in  a  condition  to  incur  the  expense  that  any 
feasible  plan  would  render  necessary.  A  few  years 
later  Eobert  R.  Livingston  proposed  to  bring  the  water 
from  the  "  Fresh- Water "  pond  into  the  city.  The 
proposed  plan  was  confessed  to  be  quite  practicable, 
and  the  supply  of  water  was  thought  to  be  adequate 
for  any  probable  wants  of  the  city;  still,  beyond  a 
few  preliminary  examinations,  and  some  fruitless  dis- 
cussions as  to  the  details  of  the  plan,  nothing  was 
done  with  it.  For  many  years  after  this  time  the 
citizens  of  New -York  were  supplied  with  pure  water, 
for  culinary  use,  from  the  "  Tea-water  Pump,"  a  large 
natural  spring,  located  near  the  junction  of  Chatham 
and  Pearl-streets — conveyed  from  door  to  door  in  casks 
upon  carts  and  drays.  The  drippings  of  the  roofs, 
carefully  preserved  in  cisterns,  and  husbanded  with 
proper  frugality,  served  to  preserve  and  promote  that 
cleanliness  of  persons,  and  apparel,  and  habitations, 
which  was  the  just  and  honest  pride  of  our  grand- 
mothers before  the  name  of  Croton  was  heard  among 
the  denizens  of  the  ancient  Dutch  metropolis. 

§  149.  Sumptuary  ordinances. 

Certain  entries  among  the  records  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment of  this  period  give  significant  intimations  of 


150  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

the  prevailing  tastes  and  sentiments  of  the  people  as 
to  the  subjects  to  which  they  relate.  Under  the  date 
of  *'  October  5,  1785,"  we  find  that  "  Thomas  Poole 
petitioned  for  permission  to  exhibit  some  feats  of  horse- 
manship, and  loas  denied.^^  Only  nine  days  later  we 
have  this  :  "  A  donation  of  forty  pounds,  made  to  the 
corporation  for  the  use  of  the  poor  by  the  '  company 
of  comedians,'  was  ordered  to  be  returned,  with  a 
note  of  disapprobation  at  the  establishment  of  a  play- 
house without  having  been  licensed,  as  unprecedented 
and  offensive ;  and  while  so  great  a  part  of  the  city  is 
still  lying  in  ruins,  and  the  city  still  suffering  under 
distress,  there  is  a  loud  call  to  industry  and  economy, 
and  it  would  be  unjustifiable  in  them  to  countenance 
expensive  and  enticing  amusements — among  which, 
play-houses,  however  well-regulated,  should  be  num- 
bered ;  while,  if  under  no  restraint,  it  may  prove  a 
fruitful  source  of  dissipation,  criminality,  and  vice.'' 
These  seem  to  indicate  a  commendable  care,  on  the 
part  of  the  city's  magistrates,  for  the  morals  of  the 
community,  but,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  their  care  was 
as  defective  in  other  matters  as  stringent  in  respect 
to  amusements.  At  that  very  time  they  were  licens- 
ing drinking  shops  at  thirty-five  shillings  each,  at  the 
ratio  of  one  to  every  sixty-five  persons,  adults  and 
children,  in  the  city. 

#  ^  150.  Benevolent  associations. 

This  period  is  also  distinguished  for  the  attention 
then  paid  to  objects  of  benevolence  and  philanthropy. 
Many  of  the  institutions  now  so  efiiciently  prosecuting 
those  objects,  were  then  just  rising  into  existence. 
Foremost,  in  point  of  time  among  these,  was  the  Man- 


Al'TER  THE  WAR.  151 

umission  Society,  the  parent  of  the  various  associations 
now  in  existence  designed  to  effect  the  extirpation  of 
slavery,  and  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the 
colored  race.  Among  the  founders  and  early  patrons 
of  this  society  were  many  of  the  most  renowned  and 
estimable  citizens  of  the  city  and  state  of  New -York, 
for  in  those  days  it  was  the  common  sentiment  that  to 
hold  a  fellow-creature  in  involuntary  bondage  was  a 
great  moral  wrong. 

The  Hummie  Society,  whose  province  is  now  occu- 
pied by  several  independent  associations,  each  direct- 
ing its  attention  to  some  specific  form  of  charity,  dates 
from  1787.  The  Society  Library  was  reorganized  and 
brought  into  renewed  operation  soon  afterward ;  and,  a 
little  later,  the  General  Society  of  Mechanics  and 
Traders  was  incorporated. 

§  151.  Financial  improvement. 

Evidence  of  returning  financial  prosperity  is  given 
in  the  advanced  prices  paid  for  real  estate.  In  1785, 
eight  lots  "  near  the  Bear  Market "  were  sold  for  a 
little  more  than  one  thousand  dollars  a  piece.  Two 
years  later,  lots  belonging  to  the  city,  at  Peck-slip, 
were  leased  for  twenty-one  years  at  thirty-five  shillings 
a  foot;  and  at  the  same  time  ninety  acres  of  the  Com- 
mon were  sold  for  about  six  thousand  dollars.  The 
market  fees  were  five  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  a 
year  for  several  years  about  this  time.  In  1791  the 
"  Fresh  Water  "  was  purchased  of  Colonel  Eutgers,  by 
the  corporation,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds ; 
and  a  hundred  lots  on  or  near  Broadway,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Hospital,  were  sold  for  twenty-five 
pounds  each. 


152  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

§  152.   Population. 

Previous  to  the  begmning  of  the  war  the  population 
of  New -York  City  had  reached  ahout  twenty- two 
thousand,  hut  the  events  of  the  war  reduced  the  num- 
ber of  permanent  residents  to  less  than  half  of  that 
number.  After  the  restoration  of  peace,  many  of  the 
families  that  had  fled  when  the  city  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy^  returned,  but  not  immediately  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  make  up  the  loss  before  sustained. 
But  the  revival  of  commerce,  and  the  great  demand 
for  the  labors  of  mechanics  and  artisans,  attracted  in- 
habitants from  all  sides ;  and  the  prospective  establish- 
ment of  the  general  government  at  that  place,  drew 
thither  a  large  proportion  of  the  leading  families  of 
the  country,  and  of  those  who  follow  in  the  train  of 
wealth  and  power.  Under  the  operation  of  these 
causes,  in  three  years  after  the  restoration  of  the  city, 
the  population  had  regained  its  highest  formerly  at- 
tained point ;  and  the  four  following  years  added  ten 
thousand  more,  making  the  aggregate  population,  in 
1790,  over  thirty  thousand. 

§  153.  Enlargement  of  the  city. 

During  the  three  years  ending  at  the  above  date, 
the  streets  leading  from  Broadway  to  the  North  Kiver, 
from  Cortlandt-street  upward  to  the  Hospital,  were 
regulated,  and  some  of  them  paved.  A  few  years 
after  this  the  Common  was  inclosed,  graded  and  plant- 
ed with  trees,  and  soon  began  to  be  called  "  the  Park." 
Broadway  was  also  paved  as  far  up  as  Warren-street, 
and  a  number  of  large  and  substantial  brick  buildings 
began  to  appear  in  that  neighborhood.     Greenwich- 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  153 

street,  on  the  bank  of  the  Hudson  Eiver,  was  pro- 
longed by  cutting  through  the  high  grounds  above 
Warren-street  (the  old  Yauxhall  Garden)  toward 
Lispenard's  Meadows. 

On  the  south-easterly  side  of  the  town  a  rapid  pro- 
gression was  also  perceptible.  There  commerce  hekl 
its  principal  seat,  and  accumulated  its  golden  treas- 
ures. From  the  beginning  the  city  in  this  quarter  had 
pressed  hard  down  upon  the  verge  of  the  water,  and 
by  degrees  the  water  itself  had  been  invaded.  At 
first  Pearl-street  lay  along  the  shore  of  the  East 
River,  though  not  immediately  on  the  water ;  Water- 
-etreet  was  soon  after  occupied  by  a  single  row  of 
houses  fronting  the  river;  it  was  not,  however,  regu- 
lated till  some  years  afterward.  Before  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  the  ground  had  been  carried  outward, 
and  Front-street  laid  out  outside  of  Water-street ;  and 
now  the  work  of  filling  in  and  extending  was  renewed, 
and  South-street  soon  appeared  outside  of  Front-street, 
a  point  beyond  which  this  "docking"  operation  has 
not  been  allowed  to  proceed.  The  progress  of  the 
city  began  also  to  be  decidedly  felt  at  points  hitherto 
considered  quite  out  of  town.  Along  "the  great 
Boston  road,''  (the  Bowery,)  on  both  sides,  were  evi- 
dent indications  that  a  city  was  expected  there  at  a 
not  very  distant  future.  On  the  west  side  four  lateral 
streets  had  been  projected  before  the  war,  but  now  the 
work  was  undertaken  in  good  earnest,  and  the  present 
order  of  streets,  as  far  west  as  Mulberry-street,  was 
arranged.  These  streets,  however,  did  not  at  first 
conic  down  to  Chatham-street,  as  they  do  at  present, 
but  only  to  the  vicinity  of  J3ayard-street.  To  the 
north-east  of  the  "  Fresh  Water"  was  a  high  woody 

7* 


154  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

Ml,  long  known  as  Bayard's  Mount,  but  after  the 
war  called  Bunker's  Hill.  On  the  north  of  this  hill 
was  the  family  mansion  of  Nicholas  Bayard,  Esq., 
which  was  approached  by  a  lane  from  the  "  Boston 
road,"  and  from  which  a  rather  devious  passage  led 
out  to  the  upper  extremity  of  Broadway.  Soon  after 
this  six  lateral  streets  were  also  laid  out  on  the  east 
side  of  "  the  road,"  which  were  numbered  from  First 
to  Sixth ;  and  these  were  intersected  by  others  start- 
ing out  of  and  running  perpendicular  to  that  chief 
thoroughfare.  Comparatively  little  was  done,  how- 
ever, toward  occupying  these  new  sites  till  after  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  • 

^154.   The  city  proper. 

But  while  the  map  of  the  city  was  thus  enlarged, 
and  great  extensions  of  its  limits  were  contemplated, 
the  city  itself  remained  quietly  within  certain  com- 
paratively narrow  limits  toward  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  Manhattan  Island.  The  outskirts  of  the  city 
proper,  sixty  years  ago,  were  at  the  Common  in  the 
center,  Beekman's  Swamp  on  the  north-east,  and  the 
grounds  of  Columbia  College  on  the  north-west.  A 
little  beyond  these  points  was  a  belt  of  lowlands, 
wholly  unfit  for  building  sites,  quite  separating  the 
dense  parts  of  the  city  from  the  projected  up-town  im- 
provements. A  portion  of  the  more  wealthy  citizens 
had  country  seats  "  out  of  town  ;"  and  some  of  the 
poorer  classes  were  accustomed  to  go  beyond  the  city 
to  obtain  cheaper  rents,  and  to  purchase  a  freehold  at 
more  moderate  rates  than  could  be  done  in  the  city 

proper. 

At  this  time,  as  already  intimated,  the  region  along 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  155 

the  East  River  was  the  chief  seat  of  the  foreign  trade ; 
while  the  wliolesale  dealers  were  found  principally  in 
Pearl-street,  Broad-street,  and  about  Hanover-square. 
William-street  that  then  was — that  portion  of  the 
street  that  still  bears  that  name,  reaching  from  Wall 
to  Fulton-street — was  the  great  seat  of  the  retail 
trade,  especially  in  fancy  and  staple  dry-goods,  and,  of 
course,  the  great  resort  of  the  ladies.  Here  were  ac- 
cumulated many  of  the  estates  that  have  given  noto- 
riety to  the  names  of  certain  leading  families  in  the 
city.  Nassau-street,  and  its  vicinity,  was  a  favorite 
locality  for  private  residences,  where  were  found  the 
family  mansions  of  many  of  the  most  considerable 
citizens.  Broadway  was  rapidly  advancing  in  import- 
ance, but  as  yet  had  attained  only  a  second-grade 
position,  while  the  region  along  the  North  River  was 
the  worst  portion  of  the  city. 

§  155.    The  prospective  federal  capital. 

From  its  geographical  position,  as  w^ell  as  from  irs 
relative  greatness,  and  the  probability  of  its  still 
greater  advancement.  New -York  was,  at  an  early 
period,  looked  to  as  the  future  capital  of  the  now 
free  and  united  American  States. 

At  the  close  of  its  session,  in  1784,  the  old  Conti- 
nental Congress  adjourned  to  meet  the  next  year  in  that 
city,  evidently  anticipating  that  the  general  govern- 
ment would  become  permanently  located  there.  Ac- 
cordindv  a  lars-e  number  of  the  officers  of  the  lately 
disbanded  continental  army  made  their  way  to  New- 
York,  to  press  their  several  claims  upon  the  govern- 
ment, or  to  associate  witli  tlieir  old  companions  in 
arms,  among  the  less  exciting  duties  and  pleasures  of 


156  CITY   OF  NEW-YORK. 

peace.  In  September,  1784,  Lafayette  arrived  in  the 
city,  to  embark  thence  for  his  native  country,  when 
the  municipal  authorities  waited  upon  him  with  an 
address,  and  the  compliment  of  the  freedom  of  the 
city.  At  a  little  later  period,  Mr.  Jay  returned 
from  Europe  and  took  up  his  residence  in  New- 
York;  and  Baron  Steuben,  after  the  disbanding  of 
the  army,  also  made  New -York  his  place  of  resi- 
dence. Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  received  by  the 
corporation  with  the  same  civilities  that  were  offered 
to  Lafayette.  The  next  spring  General  Washington 
passed  through  the  city  on  his  way  from  the  late  head- 
quarters of  the  army  to  Mount  Vernon.  Though 
traveling  as  a  private  individual,  he  was  waited  upon 
by  the  corporation,  to  whose  address  he  made  a  char- 
acteristic reply.  The  presence  of  these  illustrious 
persons,  with  many  others,  imparted  an  air  of  activity 
and  gayety  to  the  otherwise  quiet  metropolis. 

§  156.   The  Continental  Congress  in  Neio-York. 

The  design  of  the  old  Congress  to  transfer  the  seat 
of  the  general  government  to  New -York  was  highly 
acceptable  to  the  people  of  that  city.  This  satisfaction 
was  shown  in  a  truly  rational  manner.  As  the  Congress 
was  sadly  deficient  in  means,  though  it  had  adjourned 
to  meet  in  New -York,  yet  but  little  provision  had  been 
made  for  the  accommodation  of  the  government  in  its 
new  quarters.  But  the  city  government  came  forward 
and  freely  made  the  requisite  provisions.  The  old 
City  Hall  at  the  liead  of  Broad-street  was  granted  for 
the  sessions  of  the  Congress,  and  other  needed  facili- 
ties were  offered  to  the  several  departments  of  govern- 
ment.   Here  that  venerable  body  continued  its  sessions 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  157 

till  it  became  extinct  by  the  inauguration  of  the  new- 
national  government  under  the  Federal  Constitution. 
Though  a  very  noiseless  body,  and  necessarily  ineffi- 
cient, when  the  outside  pressure  of  war  was  removed, 
from  want  of  political  power,  and  especially  for  w^ant 
of  funds,  yet  were  the  members  of  that  body  a  most 
respectable  set  of  men,  and  their  presence  in  the  city 
was  decidedly  and  greatly  beneficial. 

^  157.  Local  events — the  doctors''  mob. 

A  number  of  events  of  considerable  local  interest, 
that  occurred  in  New -York  about  this  time,  demand 
a  passing  notice.  Among  these  "  the  doctors'  mob  " 
is  one  of  the  most  memorable.  It  oueht  to  be  re- 
marked  that  in  this  affair,  though  its  name  would 
seem  to  imply  that  the  members  of  that  unpugnacious 
profession  were  its  authors,  the  physicians  w^ere  rather 
the  victims  than  the  agents  of  the  violation  of  the 
public  peace.  The  brief  story  of  the  affair  is  this : — 
In  the  spring  of  the  year  1787,  as  some  children  were 
playing  near  an  old  building  at  the  lower  point  of  the 
Common,  (which  had  been  used  by  a  number  of  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  as  a  hospital  and  dissecting- 
room,)  a  young  surgeon  called  to  one  of  them,  at  the 
same  time  holding  up  the  skeleton  of  an  arm :  "  See, 
here  is  your  mother's  hand,  that  has  cuffed  your  ears 
many  a  time !"  Whether,  as  pretended,  the  bones 
were  those  of  the  child's  mother,  or  whether  the  whole 
was  only  an  unlucky  coincidence,  is  w^holly  uncertain ; 
but  not  so  were  the  consequences.  The  mother  of  the 
child  had  died  only  a  short  time  previously,  and  of 
course  the  heartless  exhibition  and  atldress  affected 
him.     In  a  trepidation  of  horror  at  what  he  had  seen 


158  •     CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

and  heard,  the  child  ran  to  his  father,  who  was  not  far 
off,  engaged  as  a  mason  upon  a  new  building,  and  told 
him  the  w^hole  story.  The  agonized  father,  sensitive 
from  his  recent  bereavement,  and  at  a  loss  what  such 
a  declaration  might  mean,  proceeded  to  examine  the 
grave  of  his  deceased  wife,  which,  to  his  utter  horror, 
he  found  had  been  rifled  of  the  body.  Overwhelmed 
and  petrified  with  grief,  he  returned  and  related  his 
tale  of  anguish  to  his  fellow-workmen.  But  with  them 
rage  rather  than  grief  became  the  ruling  passion. 
Armed  with  their  implements  of  labor,  they  proceeded 
in  a  body  toward  the  ill-omened  building,  gathering 
recruits  by  the  way,  till  they  amounted  to  a  formidable 
mob.  The  occupants  fled  at  their  approach,  leaving 
everything  as  it  was ;  and  the  excited  multitude  took 
possession.  Here  they  found  additional  excitants  for 
their  rage.  In  various  parts  of  the  building  were 
found  a  number  of  human  bodies,  in  various  stages  of 
dissection  and  mutilation.  Maddened  by  the  spectacle, 
the  mob  issued  out  in  pursuit  of  the  unlucky  doctors, 
who,  however,  had  the  good  fortune,  though  sometimes 
very  narrowly,  to  escape  from  their  pursuers. 

§  158.   How  the  riot  continued. 

The  indignation  of  the  people  against  the  heartless 
robbers  of  the  grave  was  most  intense,  and  almost 
universal.  The  multitude,  however,  made  no  dis- 
crimination, but  aimed  their  rage  against  the  entire 
medical  profession,  so  that  there  was  no  safety  for  any 
physician  within  the  reach  of  the  infuriated  mob. 
They  were  therefore  placed  within  the  jail,  and  there 
strongly  guarded  by  a  military  force.  For  three  or 
four  days  the  city  was  in  a  state  of  intestine  war ;  at 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  159 

times  the  mob  bore  down  everything  before  them, 
and  again  they  gave  way  before  the  charge  of  the 
military  forces  emj^loyed  by  the  city  government. 
When  it  was  ascertained  that  the  doctors  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  jail,  that  building  became  the  principal 
object  of  attack  and  defense.  One  day,  after  a  some- 
what protracted  lull  in  the  popular  storm,  at  a  con- 
certed time,  a  general  rush  of  the  rioters  was  made  in 
that  direction  ;  but  the  militia  were  there  before  them, 
drawn  up  with  loaded  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets. 
The  governor,  the  mayor,  and  aldermen,  and  many 
of  the  principal  citizens  were  also  before  the  jail, 
lending  their  influence  to  the  cause  of  law  and  order. 
Upon  these,  therefore,  the  infuriated  mob  made  a 
desperate  onset,  and  Governor  Clinton  was  with  some 
difliculty  restrained  from  ordering  the  military  to  fire 
upon  them.  In  the  melee  Mr.  Jay  received  a  serious 
wound  in  the  head,  and  the  Baron  Steuben  was 
knocked  down  by  a  blow  from  a  stone  thrown  at 
random  from  the  mob.  The  kind-hearted  old  soldier 
had  all  along  been  very  solicitous  that  extreme  meas- 
ures should  not  be  resorted  to ;  and  at  the  very  mo- 
ment of  his  misfortune  he  was  earnestly  engaged  in 
deprecating  such  a  fatal  resort.  But  the  blow. on  his 
own  head  wholly  changed  his  views  of  the  subject ; 
and,  as  he  fell,  he  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Fire!  governor, 
fire  !"  The  ludicrousness  of  the  aflPair  quite  dispelled 
any  sanguinary  designs  that  his  former  entreaties  had 
failed  to  remove  from  the  heart  of  the  governor,  and 
so  the  rioters  escaped  the  "  leaden  hail,"  and  the  city 
the  horrible  spectacle  of  a  domestic  massacre. 


160  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  159.  How  the  affair  ended. 

At  length,  exhausted  by  their  own  efforts,  and  per- 
haps in  part  avenged,  the  mob  melted  away,  like  a 
morning  mist,  and  order  again  reigned  in  the  city. 
Several  lives  had  been  sacrificed  in  the  tumult,  and  a 
great  many  had  been  more  or  less  severely  wounded, 
who  then  would  have  gladly  availed  themselves  of  the 
aid  of  the  objects  of  their- recent  infuriated  pursuit. 
The  amount  of  damage  actually  suffered  was,  however, 
less  than  might  have  been  apprehended  from  the  for- 
midable character  of  the  excitement.  We  have  no 
account  of  any  subsequent  prosecutions  against  the 
rioters.  The  affair  was  properly  a  drawn  battle. 
Whether  the  case  that  first  excited  the  popular  indig- 
nation was  fact  or  fiction  is  uncertain,  and  at  this  time 
unimportant ;  there  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  great 
blame  was  due  to  the  surgeons,  and  especially  to  the 
young  man  whose  wanton  folly  was  the  first  cause  of 
the  excitement.  Popular  tumults  are  great  evils,  and 
always  to  be  deprecated,  except  when  they  become  the 
only  remedies  available  against  great  popular  abuses. 
It  is  always  well  for  the  guardians  of  public  affairs  to 
be  assured  that  there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  abuses 
can  not  be  carried  without  danger  to  the  persons  and 
estates  of  their  authors. 

^  160.  A  grand  federal  procession. 

The  next  incident  requiring  to  be  noticed  was  the 
great  civic  procession  in  honor  of  the  ratification  of 
the  Federal  Constitution.  This  great  exhibition  was 
doubtless  among  the  most  splendid  ever  witnessed  in 
the  city  ;  and,  as  regards  the  popular  enthusiasm,  it  is 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  161 

probably  without  a  rival.  The  morning  of  the  23d 
of  July,  1788,  was  ushered  in  with  a  federal  salute 
of  thirteen  guns,  and  the  ringing  of  the  bells  of  the 
city.  At  the  designated  hour,  the  several  bodies  that 
were  to  make  up  the  procession  gathered  at  their  re- 
spective places  of  rendezvous,  and  proceeded  thence  to 
their  places  in  the  line,  as  they  were  forming  in  *'  the 
fields."  When  duly  formed  the  column  proceeded 
down  Broadway  and  Whitehall-street;  then  through 
Great  Dock-street  to  Hanover-square ;  thence  up  Great 
Queen-street,  Chatham-street,  and  the  Boston  road  to 
"Bayard's  farm/^  where  the  procession  halted.  Here 
a  splendid  dinner  was  served  to  the  rejoicing  multi- 
tude ;  and,  among  the  other  viands,  was  a  fat  ox 
roasted  whole.  Among  the  guests  at  this  feast  of  joy 
were  the  president  and  members  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  the  heads  of  departments  of  the  general 
government,  foreign  ministers  and  other  distin- 
guished strangers,  and  the  clergy  of  the  city. 

The  procession  was  exclusively  civic  in  its  charac- 
ter, as  no  military  company  Avas  present,  and  all  its 
parts  indicate  at  once  the  decidedly  American,  and  the 
strongly  federative  tendency  of  the  public  sentiment. 
The  procession  was  led  by  a  man  on  horseback,  per- 
sonating Christopher  Columbus,  who  was  thus  recog- 
nized as  the  great  pioneer  in  the  westward  march  of  em- 
pire. Next  came  two  practical  farmers,  driving  their 
field-teams,  one  drawing  a  plow  and  the  other  a  har- 
row. These  were  followed  by  the  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, led  on  by  their  eagle  banner,  and  dressed  in 
their  continental  uniforms.  After  them  came  the  sev- 
eral trades  and  professions,  with  appropriate  ensigns 
and  badges — the  workmen  on  stages  drawn  by  horses 


162  CITY   OF   NEW-YORK 

— and  seeming  to  work  at  their  respective  trades,  each 
doing  something  for  the  public  service.  The  carpen- 
ters, especially,  had  a  job  adapted  to  the  occasion. 
Their  platform  rested  on  ten  pillars — emblems  of  the 
ten  States  that  had  already  ratified  the  Constitution — 
while  they  were  engaged  upon  the  eleventh,  which  was 
inscribed  "New -York,"  while  two  others  lay  by,  em- 
blematical of  the  two  States  (Ehode-Island  and  North 
Carolina)  that  were  yet  outside  of  the  federation. 

But  the  most  interesting,  as  well  as  the  most  con- 
spicuous, object  in  the  procession  was  the  "  federal 
ship,"  a  miniature  frigate  of  about  thirty-two  feet 
keel  and  ten  feet  beam,  and  complete  in  all  her  parts. 
She  was  manned  by  about  forty  seamen  and  marines, 
besides  the  usual  complement  of  officers  upon  her 
quarter-deck. 

After  the  feast  was  dispatched,  the  procession 
threaded  its  way  by  an  irregular  and  incommodious 
lane-way  to  the  head  of  Broadway,  and  S9  to  the  place 
of  setting  out,  where  the  whole  were  dismissed.  In 
the  evening  was  a  grand  illumination  and  display  of 
fire-works  in  the  Bowling-green,  which,  it  is  said,  were 
not  a  little  damaged  by  the  pertinacious  brilliancy  of 
the  moon. 

^  161.   Preparation  for  the  new  national  government. 

The  new  federal  constitution  having  been  ratified 
by  more  than  the  minimum  number  of  States  required 
to  give  it  validity,  and  a  president  and  vice-president 
having  been  elected,  as  well  as  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives from  most  of  the  ratifying  States,  the  new 
government  was  convoked, — the  4th  of  March,  1789, 
being  designated  as  the  time,  and  New -York  as  the 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  163 

place  of  meeting.  This  event  was  looked  forward  to 
with  much  satisfaction  by  the  citizens  and  government 
of  the  city.  There  was,  however,  one  great  drawback 
to  this  general  satisfaction — there  was  no  place  in  the 
city  in  which  the  new  government  could  be  accommo- 
dated. 

The  old  Congress  had  held  its  sessions  in  the  City 
Hall  at  the  head  of  Broad-street ;  but  that  building- 
was  sadly  out  of  repair,  and  only  partially  recovered 
from  the  dilapidation  into  which  it  had  fallen  while 
in  the  hands  of  a  foreign  enemy.  Extensive  repairs 
were  absolutely  demanded  to  render  it  at  all  suitable 
for  the  purposes  to  which  it  was  to  be  appropriated, 
and  neither  the  Continental  Congress  nor  the  city 
government  could  command  the  funds  that  such  a 
work  would  require.  In  this  emergency,  with  a  highly 
commendable  patriotism  and  regard  for  the  interests 
of  the  city,  a  number  of  private  citizens  advanced  the 
necessary  amount  (g!32,500)  to  the  city  autliorities. 
The  building  was  then  remodeled  and  thoroughly 
repaired,  and  the  renovated  edifice — now  named  "  Fed- 
eral Hall  ^' — placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  new  federal 
government.  This  work  was  not  completed,  however, 
till  nearly  two  months  after  the  time  it  was  to  have 
been  occupied.  The  4th  of  March  came,  but  not  the 
pageant  of  the  expected  inauguration.  Salutes  of 
cannon,  and  peals  from  the  bells  of  the  city  were 
sounded  at  sunrise,  noon,  and  sunset ;  but  only  eight 
senators  and  thirteen  representatives  were  in  attend- 
ance. Nearly  a  month  passed  before  a  quorum  of 
each  House  could  be  obtained,  and  then  almost  an- 
other month  was  spent  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
president  elect. 


164  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

§  162.  Inauguration  of  President  Washington. 

General  Washington  arrived  in  New -York,  to  as- 
sume the  hitherto  untried  duties  of  the  new  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  under  the  federal  consti- 
tution, on  the  23d  day  of  April,  1789,  and  just  a 
'week  later  (the  30th)  took  place  the  ceremony  of  the 
inauguration.  The  place  selected  for  this  imposing 
scene  was  the  halcony  of  the  senate-chamber,  which, 
being  elevated  and  opening  to  the  south  toward  Broad- 
street,  afforded  a  favorable  view  to  the  multitude  of 
spectators.  At  nine  o'clock  religious  services  were 
held  in  all  the  churches  in  the  city — a  commendable 
recognition  of  the  dependence  of  the  new  government 
upon  the  protection  of  Heaven.  At  a  little  past  noon 
the  president  elect  proceeded  from  his  lodgings,  es- 
corted by  a  troop  of  cavalry,  and  attended  by  a  com- 
mittee of  Congress,  and  the  heads  of  departments  of 
the  old  government  in  carriages,  followed  by  two  or 
three  resident  foreign  ministers,  and  a  great  concourse 
of  citizens.  Having  been  conducted  to  the  senate- 
chamber,  he  was  there  received  by  the  two  houses  of 
the  new  Congress,  and  presently  informed  by  the  vice- 
president,  acting  as  president  of  the  senate  and  chair- 
man of  the  convention  of  the  two  houses,  that  all 
things  were  ready  for  the  administration  of  the  re- 
quired oajih  of  office.  The  august  assembly  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  open  gallery  immediately  in  front  of  the 
senate-chamber,  and  there,  in  sight  of  the  multitudes 
that  filled  the  open  space  on  all  sides,  Kobert  E.  Liv- 
ingston, Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New -York,  pro- 
ceeded to  administer  the  oath  of  office  to  the  new  presi- 
dent.    This  done,  Livingston,  with  a  firm  and  audible 


AFTER  THE  WAR.  165 

voice,  added,  "Long  live  George  Washington,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States !"  The  response  given  to 
this  sentiment  was  loud,  long,  and  enthusiastic — such 
as  may  be  heard  only  when  a  multitude  is  deeply  and 
thoroughly  affected  by  a  common  soul-stirring  senti- 
ment, uttered  with  mingled  sobs  and  tears  of  joy. 
The  inaugural  address  was  then  read  in  the  senate- 
chamber,  after  which  the  members  of  the  new  govern- 
ment proceeded  in  a  body  to  St.  Paul's  church,  where 
prayers  suited  to  the  occasion  were  read  by  the  re- 
cently ordained  Bishop  Provoost,  who  had  also  been 
chosen  chaplain  to  the  senate.  The  day  closed  with 
the  usual  display  of  fire-works  and  illuminations. 

§  163.  New-York  the  national  capital. 

The  proceedings  of  the  general  government,  though 
located  in  New- York,  do  not  come  within  the  designs 
of  a  purely  local  history.  Yet  the  presence  of  the 
government  in  that  city,  though  only  for  the  brief 
period  of  a  little  more  than  a  year  after  the  new  or- 
ganization, did  not  fail  to  make  a  decided  impression 
upon  its  society,  as  well  as  upon  its  municipal  prog- 
ress. The  population  of  the  city  was  increased  by 
the  presence  of  the  officers  and  agents  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  much  more  by  those  who,  for  purposes  of 
pleasure  or  business,  followed  in  their  train.  The 
manners  of  the  people  were  also  greatly,  and,  on  the 
whole,  favorably  affected  by  the  presence  of  so  large 
a  number  of  persons  representing  the  better  educated 
classes  of  all  parts  of  the  Union,  as  well  as  from 
foreign  countries.  During  this  period  there  were 
also  in  the  city  a  great  number  of  the  veterans  of 
the  revolutionary  array  hanging  around  the  govern- 


166  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

ment^ — either  from  attachment  to  their  former  com- 
mander-in-chief, or  more  frequently  as  expectant  pe- 
titioners for  the  means  of  subsistence.  These  disband- 
ed soldiers  composed  a  notable  element  of  society,  as 
they  were  accustomed  to  mingle  in  the  social  gath- 
erings of  the  citizens  and  incumbents  of  government 
offices,  or  to  parade  the  streets,  with  their  soldierly 
bearings  and  razeed  uniforms. 

The  first  Congress  held  its  first  and  second  sessions 
in  New -York;  and  in  that  period  the  wheels  of  the 
federal  government  were  gotten  fairly  in  motion,  and 
a  line  of  policy  adopted,  which,  with  some  modifica- 
.  tions,  continues  to  the  present  time.  The  people  of 
New -York  would  have  gladly  induced  Congress  to 
make  their  city  the  permanent  capital  of  the  nation, 
but  a  more  southern  locality  was  demanded  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  people's  representatives.  Accordingly, 
at  the  close  of  the  second  session,  the  government  was 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  to  which  place  Congress  had 
adjourned. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  167 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONDITION    AND    PROGRESS  — 17  90-1  810. 

§  164.  Further  extension. 

The  twenty  years  reaching  from  1790  to  1810,  formed 
a  period  of  unprecedented  prosperity  in  the  pecuniary 
and  industrial  aflPairs  of  New -York.  During  this 
time  also  the  city  suffered  most  severely  from  the 
visitations  of  disease.  In  1791  the  old  wards  were  all 
abolished  and  a  new  distribution  made,  and  the  new 
wards,  instead  of  being  named,  as  were  the  old  ones, 
were  numbered  from  one  to  seven.  Durino;  this  and 
the  next  year  many  new  streets  were  opened,  and 
others  formerly  opened  for  a  portion  of  their  present 
length,  were  greatly  extended.  Many  new  buildings 
were  also  erected,  some  of  them  of  a  class  somewhat 
advanced  above  the  style  that  had  generally  prevailed 
hitherto.  The  shore  of  the  East  Eiver,  above  Coen  ties- 
slip,  was  especially  a  scene  of  activity  at  this  time, 
and  at  that  early  period  the  encroachments  upon  the 
water  were  carried  to  a  point  beyond  which  they  have 
not  since  been  permitted  to  extend.  On  the  East 
Eiver  a  point  had  been  already  reached  beyond  which 
it  was  not  considered  proper  to  carry  out  the  water 
line;  and,  accordingly,  a  law  was  procured  from  the 
State  legislature,  forbidding  the  extension  of  the 
wharves  beyond  a  point  already  reached  by  some  of 
them.  Toward  the  Hudson  Eiver  the  city  was  also 
advancing  rapidly,  and  soon  after  West^street  was 
surveyed  and  laid  out,  and  made  the  permanent  limit 
of  the  city  in  that  direction  ;  and  "  up-town,"  that  is, 


168  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

about  the  College,  the  Common,  Chatham-street,  and 
Catharine-street,  the  city  was  advancing  with  an  un- 
paralleled growth. 

§  165.   Consolidation  of  the  city'' s  plan. 

The  advancement  of  the  city  induced  the  corpora- 
tion to  give  increased  attention  to  laying  out  new 
streets,  and  regulating  those  that  had  been  before 
projected.  A  system  was  then  adopted,  which,  as 
carried  out,  has  given  to  the  middle  portions  of  our 
city  a  good  degree  of  regularity,  as  well  as  furnished 
it  with  capacious  and  convenient  thoroughfares. 
Though  less  rigidly  exact  than  some  of  its  sister 
cities,  and  even  less  so  than  its  own  newer  portions, 
the  middle  region  of  New -York  may  compare  advan- 
tageously, in  point  of  practical  convenience,  with  al- 
most any  city  in  the  land.  Much  was  also  done  at 
this  time  to  remedy  the  defects  of  the  plan  of  the 
older  portion  of  the  city.  Many  of  the  continuous 
ways  had  been  broken  up  into  parts  and  called  by  dif- 
ferent names,  but  now  these  fragments  of  streets  were 
consolidated.  Smith-street  extended  from  the  "  Vley  " 
up  to  Wall-str*eet,  where  William-street  commenced 
and  extended  to  Frankfort-street,  and  from  that  point 
Kino*  George-street  reached  to  Pearl:  all  these  were 
now  reduced  to  a  single  street,  and  the  name  of  Wil- 
liam-street applied  to  the  whole.  The  extension  of 
Broadway  above  St.  PauFs  church,  along  the  west  side 
of  the  Common,  had  been  called  Great  George-street, 
which  name  was  abolished,  and  a  common  name  given 
to  the  entire  street.  Little  Dock-street,  Pearl-street, 
Hanover-square,  and  Great  Queen-street,  were  con- 
solidated into  the  present  Pearl-street,  as  far  up  as 


CONDITIOX  AXD  PROGRESS.  1G9 

Chatham-street.  Princess-street  was  given  to  Beaver- 
street.  Stone-street  was  increased  by  the  annexation 
of  Duke-street,  and  the  alley  leading  to  Hanover- 
square.  Yerlettenberg,  or  Flatten  Barrack-street,  lead- 
ing from  Broad-street  to  Broadway,  was  united  to 
Garden-street,  leading  from  the  same  point  eastward, 
making  the  street  now  called  Exchange-place.  The 
name  of  King-street  was  changed  to  Pine-street ; 
Little  Queen,  to  Cedar;  Crown,  to  Liberty;  and 
Prince,  to  Rose — thus,  for  a  while,  obliteratino-  the 
very  names  of  royalty  from  the  map  of  the  city,  which, 
as  monuments  of  foreign  domination,  had  become 
hateful  to  the  people. 

^166.  New  public  edifices — resources. 

Several  public  buildings  for  city  purposes,  as  well 
as  individual  enterprise,  were  erected  about  this  time. 
Of  the  latter  class  was  the  Tontine  CofFee-House  in 
Wall-street,  built  by  an  association  of  capitalists  in 
1792,  and  for  a  long  time  the  most  celebrated  hotel 
in  the  city.  In  1794  the  new  alms-house  in  Cham- 
bers-street (directly  in  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall)  was 
begun,  and  completed  the  next  year.  To  aid  the 
city  in  that  undertaking,  the  legislature  of  the  State 
granted  £10,000,  to  be  raised  by  a  lottery.  It  is  a 
gratifying  evidence  of  the  improved  morality  of  the 
times,  that  a  practice  then  sanctioned  by  law,  and  en- 
gaged in  by  good  citizens,  is  now  justly  abhorred,  and 
proscribed  by  stringent  penal  enactments.  At  that 
time  the  whole  number  of  paupers  dependent  on  pub- 
lic charity  was  six  hundred  and  twenty-two,  for  whose 
maintenance  the  city  paid  annually  more  than  ^20,000. 
Soon  after  this  the  property  near  Kip's  Bay,  since 

8 


170  CITY  OF  NEW -YORK. 

known  as  Bellevue,  and  till  recently  the  seat  of  the  city 
alms-house  and  hospitals,  was  purchased  for  X2,000. 
There  were  also  about  that  time  seventy-three  per- 
sons, on  an  average,  in  bridewell,  who  cost  ^1,500  a 
year  over  their  earnings.  The  New -York  dispensary, 
since  so  efficient  in  affording  medical  relief  to  the 
diseased  poor,  was  incorporated  that  year,  and  the 
next  year  the  neAv  state-prison  at  Greenwich  was  be- 
gun. The  Park  theater,  the  first  allowed  in  the  city, 
was  completed  and  opened  to  the  public,  a  few  years 
later.  In  1795  the  ferry  to  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey 
City)  was  leased  for  .£250  per  year;  the  Hoboken 
ferry  for  £95  ;  that  to  Staten  Island  had  before  been 
rented  for  <£20 ;  and  two  years  later  the  Brooklyn 
ferry  brought  .£800.  In  1793  the  income  from  tav- 
ern licenses  and  market  fees  was  more  than  £2,000; 
and  in  1800  the  wharves,  slips,  and  piers,  were  leased 
for  gl,200.  The  auction  duties  for  1798  amounted 
to  ^2,583. 

•  §  167.   Increase  of  commerce. 

As  the  source  of  the  progress  so  plainly  seen  in  all 
departments  of  the  affairs  of  the  city,  its  commercial 
prosperity  is  especially  worthy  of  notice.  Taking  a 
period  of  thirteen  years,  extending  from  1789  to  1801, 
both  inclusive,  a  most  astonishing  increase  is  shown. 
During  this  period  the  duties  on  foreign  goods  im- 
ported into  New-Tork  advanced  from  less  than 
)J1 50,000,  collected  in  the  first  of  those  years,  to  near- 
ly ^5,000,000  in  the  last.  The  tonnage  of  American 
vessels  engaged  in  foreign  trade  was,  in  1789,  eighteen 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight;  in  1801, 
one  hundred  and  forty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and 
thirtv-two.      In  the  coasting-trade  the  inoronae  was 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  171 

from  less  than  five  thousand  to  thirty-four  thousand 
tons.  The  foreign  vessels  increased  in  the  same  time 
about  three-fold,  and  amounted  at  the  end  to  sixty 
thousand  tons.  During  the  same  period  the  value 
of  exports  increased  from  jJ2,500,000  to  almost 
$20,000,000.  Before  the  Eevolution  they  had  never 
reached  ;8oOO,000  in  any  single  year.  These  dry  de- 
tails tell  the  whole  story,  and  prove  beyond  a  ques- 
tion that  as  New -York  lives  by  commerce,  so  it  has 
ever  owed  its  prosperity  to  that  form  of  productive 
industry.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  character  of  the 
city,  as  a  great  emporium  of  trade,  became  definitely 
settled  during  the  few  later  years  of  the  last  century. 

§  168.  New  church  edifices. 

During  the  period  now  especially  under  notice,  a 
commendable  interest  was  evinced  in  the  matter  of 
providing  for  the  religious  wants  of  the  city.  Christ- 
church  (afterward  removed  to  x\nthony-street)  was 
erected  in  Ann-street  in  1794 ;  and  two  years  later, 
St.  Mark's,  at  Stuyvesant's  Place,  two  miles  from  the 
city ;  also  a  Baptist  church  in  Oliver-street.  In  1797 
two  Presbvterian  churches  were  erected,  one  in  Pearl- 
street,  and  the  other  in  Rutger's-strect,  out  of  town, 
toward  Corlaer's  Hook.  Zion's  (Episcopal)  church 
was  built  in  1801 ;  and  St.  Stephen's,  in  First  (Christie) 
street,  in  1805.  In  1809  Grace  church  was  founded 
as  an  independent  Episcopal  church,  occupying  the 
site  of  the  old  Lutheran  church  in  Broadway,  below 
Trinity  church  ;  and  the  next  year  St.  John's  chapel, 
in  Varick-street,  then  quite  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
city.  Two  or  three  small  houses  of  worship  were 
erected  by  the  Baptists  during  the  first  few  years  of 


172  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK. 

the  present  century.  A  Methodist  church,  the  second 
in  the  city  of  that  denomination,  Avas  built  in  Second 
(Forsyth)  street  in  1789 ;  and  another,  the  third,  in 
Duane-street,  near  the  North  Eiver,  in  1797.  A 
church  for  colored  people,  of  the  same  denomination, 
was  established  in  Church-street  in  1800;  and  only  a 
few  years  later  a  Methodist  church  was  erected  in 
Allen-street,  and  another  in  Bedford-street,  in  Green- 
wich village. 

§  169.    The  New  -York  pulpit. 

At  no  time  has  the  people  of  New -York  enjoyed  the 
labors  of  a  greater  proportion  of  eminent  divines  than 
during  the  latter  years  of  the  last  century  and  the 
former  of  this.  Bishop  Provoost  was  at  once  bishop  of 
the  diocese  and  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  smallness  of  his  diocesan  duties  beyond 
the  city,  he  was  able  to  devote  most  of  his  labors  to 
that  parish,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  his  not  less 
eminent  successor.  Dr.  Benjamin  Moore.  The  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Wall-street  enjoyed  the  services  of 
Dr.  John  Eogers  till  removed  by  death,  when  his 
place  was  supplied,  with  scai'cely  less  ability,  by  the 
late  Dr.  Miller,  of  Princeton,  then  just  commencing 
his  ministry  ;  and  that  in  Cedar-street  was  served  by 
the  celebrated  Dr.  Eomeyn.  The  Eeformed  Dutch 
church  was  first  occupied  by  Dr.  Livingston,  and,  after 
his  decease,  by  Dr.  Abeel.  Dr.  John  Mason  was  then 
just  appearing  before  the  public,  and  giving  the  first 
indications  of  that  powerful  intellect  which  has  given 
luster  to  his  reputation,  while  the  history  of  his  over- 
tasked energies  remains  a  beacon  to  warn  others  of  the 
dangers  to  which  he  became  a  victim. 


CONDITION    AND   PROGRESS.  173 

§  170.  Frequent  and  extensive  visitations  of  yellow- fever. 

During  tlie  period  embraced  in  this  chapter,  New- 
York  was  frequently  and  severely  scourged  with  the 
yellow-fever,  in  the  form  of  an  epidemic.  After  the 
lapse  of  fifty  years,  since  its  last  departure,  it  appear- 
ed again  in  1791,  in  a  comparatively  mild  form,  and 
was  confined  to  a  limited  region  about  Burling-slip. 
The  next  year  it  prevailed  very  malignantly  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  strict  quarantine  regulations  were  main- 
tained in  New  -York  to  prevent  its  importation ;  and 
during  that  year  the  city  escaped.  But  early  in  the 
summer  of  1795  it  appeared  suddenly  in  New -York, 
and  continued  to  rage  till  the  coming  on  of  cold 
weather.  A  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  fled 
from  the  city,  and  nearly  all  forms  of  business  ex- 
perienced a  complete  stagnation.  The  whole  number 
of  deaths  by  yellow-fever  amounted  to  about  seven 
hundred  and  fifty,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  one  and  a 
half  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population  of  the  city.  In 
1798  the  epidemic  returned  again,  and  though  it  did 
not  appear  till  near  the  beginning  of  August,  it  great- 
ly exceeded  in  fatality  .that  which  had  preceded  it. 
More  than  two  thousand  persons  died  of  the  epidemic, 
and  a  thousand  more  died  of  its  effects ;  and  as  the 
population  of  the  city  did  not  probably  exceed  about 
thirty  thousand  during  the  prevalence  of  the  pesti- 
lence, it  appears  that  a  tenth  of  these  fell  victims  to 
this  scourge.  • 

§  171.   Causes  of  the  epidemic — its  recurrence. 

An  investigation  into  the  causes  of  this  epidemic, 
made  by  "  a  large  and  respectable  committee  of  the 


174  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

citizens,  the  physicians,  and  of  the  corporation,"  pre- 
sented only  the  ordinary  causes  of  disease  in  large 
cities.  Among  these  they  enumerated  "  deep,  damp 
cellars,  and  sunken  yards,  unfinished  water-lots,  puhlic 
slips,  containing  filth  and  stagnant  water,  burials  in 
the  city,  narrow  and  filthy  streets,  tippling-houses, 
(more  than  a  thousand  were  licensed  that  year,)  and 
want  of  an  adequate  supply  of  pure  and  wholesome 
water.''  The  epidemic  returned  the  next  year,  though 
it  prevailed  to  a  comparatively  slight  degree,  and 
again  in  1801,  and  yet  again  in  1803.  The  next  year 
it  broke  out  in  Brooklyn,  and  caused  between  forty 
and  fifty  deaths,  but  did  not  appear  in  the  city.  But 
in  1805  it  raged  with  very  considerable  violence,  pro^ 
ducing  a  great  panic  and  flight  from  the  city,  and 
seriously  deranging  business.  The  mortality,  how- 
ever, was  small,  compared  with  what  occurred  seven 
years  before,  amounting  to  only  about  three  hundred. 
After  this  the  yellow-fever  did  not  appear  again  in 
New -York  for  fourteen  years. 

§  172.  Benevolence  elicited  hy  the  epidemic. 

These  frequent  visitations  of  that  most  terrible 
malady,  with  all  its  evils,  was  also  the  occasion  of 
much  good  to  New -York.  The  necessities  of  the  poor 
called  loudly  for  the  aid  of  the  benevolent,  and  the 
call  was  nobly  responded  to  by  the  citizens  generally. 
The  people  thus  became  accustomed  to  care  for  the 
poor  and  afliict(?d,  and  a  spirit  of  active  and  generous 
benevolence  was  evoked  and  called  into  habitual  exer- 
cise in  their  behalf — a  spirit  and  practice  that  has 
ever  since  been  the  crowning  glory  of  the  citizens  of 
New -York.     The  great  mortality  among  the  poor, 


CO^DlTiO.N   A^D  PKOGRESS.  175 

and  among  strangers,  induced  the  corporation  to  make 
some  more  adequate  provision  for  interments,  without 
expense,  to  those  who  would  avail  themselves  of  such 
provision  ;  and  accordingly  Potters-field  (now  Wash- 
ington-square) was  purchased,  and  appropriated  for  a 
free  burjing-ground.  The  quarantine  regulations  of 
the  city  were  more  fully  defined  and  rigidly  enforced. 
Bedlow's  Island  was  given  up  to  the  State  as  a  site 
for  a  lazaretto.  Increased  attention  was  given  to  the 
statistics  of  disease  and  death,  and  the  bills  of  mor- 
tality were  ordered  to  be  carefully  made  up,  and 
regularly  published.  The  physicians  became  more 
active  in  anticipating  and  preventing  disease,  as  well 
as  in  curing  it ;  and  a  great  amount  of  gratuitous 
practice  began  to  be  given  to  the  poor.  A  board  of 
health  was,  during  this  period,  first  organized  in  the 
city. 

§  173.  A  supply  of  pure  water — the  Manhattati  Company. 

The  subject  of  supplying  the  city  with  pure  and 
wholesome  water  occupied  much  of  the  attention  of 
the  citizens  at  this  period,  and  was  the  theme  of  many 
long  and  interesting  discussions  among  the  public  men 
of  the  city.  The  necessity  of  some  better  supply  was 
universally  confessed  ;  but  any  plan  that  at  all  prom- 
ised an  adequate  supply  required  an  amount  of  money 
for  its  accomplishment  (^1,000,000)  greater  than  the 
corporation  felt  willing  to  expend.  A  private  corpo- 
ration— the  Manhattan  Company — was,  therefore,  or- 
ganized and  chartered  in  1799,  which  promised  to 
perform  the  needed  work.  To  this  company  was  given 
the  exclusive  use  of  all  the  springs  and  streams  on 
the  island,  as  well  as  the  exclusive  right  to  supply 


176  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

water  to  the  city.  The  company  proceeded  at  once  to 
organize,  and  to  prosecute  the  object  proposed  in  its 
charter.  Deep  wells  were  sunk  directly  back  of  the 
alms-house,  near  the  border  of  the  lake,  or  "  Collect," 
affording  an  abundant  supply  of  water,  which  was 
forced  by  a  steam-engine  into  a  reservoir,  from  which 
it  was  distributed  in  wooden  pipes,  laid  along  the 
streets  under  ground,  to  all  parts  of  the  city.  In 
1808  the  capital  and  real  estate  of  the  company 
amounted  to  gl 72,000.  Two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  sixteen  houses  and  fountains  were  supplied,  and 
the  company's  affairs  were  considered  generally  pros- 
perous. But  it  soon  after  became  evident  that,  .as  an 
expedient  for  supplying  the  city  with  water,  this  pro- 
vision was  quite  insuJB&cient. 

^  174.  Increase  of  population. 

Notwithstanding  the  frequent  recurrence  of  epidem- 
ical diseases,  the  population  of  New -York  increased 
steadily,  and  with  unprecedented  rapidity.  The  ac- 
cession of  numbers  was  at  the  rate  of  about  three  thou- 
sand yearly.  At  the  general  census  in  1800,  New- 
York  had  over  sixty  thousand  inhabitants,  having 
nearly  doubled  in  ten  years;  and  five  years  later  it 
had  reached  seventy-five  thousand.  The  composition  of 
the  population,  as  to  race  and  country,  was  also  highly 
gratifying.  The  colored  population,  which,  for  a  hun- 
dred years  before  the  Eevolution,  had  constituted  a 
sixth  part  of  the  whole — most  of  them  slaves — had 
declined  relatively  nearly  one-half,  and  slavery  was 
rapidly  verging  toward  complete  extinction.  The 
proportion  of  aliens  was  likewise  inconsiderable,  and 
among  the  native  inhabitants  the  old  lines  of  distinc- 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  177 

tion  and  original  nationalities  had  become  almost 
wholly  effaced,  and  the  population  of  New -York  pre- 
sented a  well-defined  and  homogeneous  character,  which 
it  has  maintained  until  very  recently. 

§  175.  Enlargement  of  the  city. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  New- 
York  fairly  overleaped  the  boundaries  that  seemed  for 
a  while  to  confine  it.  A  line  of  low  grounds  and 
water-courses  extended  quite  across  the  island,  from 
the  Great  Swamp  on  the  East  Kiver,  through  the 
Fresh- Water  pond  and  Lispenard^s  meadows  to  the 
Hudson,  cutting  off  the  city  from  the  high  ground 
beyond.  For  a  long  time  the  only  public  highway 
over  this  low  ground  was  the  Boston  road,  which 
passed  over  a  bridge  near  the  head  of  Eoosevelt-strcct. 
Eecently  a  passage  had  been  made  on  the  shore  of  the 
Hudson,  pretty  nearly  answering  to  the  present  Green- 
wich-street. But  the  growth  of  the  city  naturally 
caused  it  to  expand  beyond  its  former  limits,  and  with 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  city  began 
its  progress  "  up-town,''  which  has  not  yet  been  arrest- 
ed. Down  to  that  time  the  little  lake  of  pure  spring 
water  had  occupied  its  central  position  in  the  island, 
and  its  possession  had  never  been  even  threatened 
with  prospective  disturbance.  Eoosevelt-street  already 
covered  its  eastern  outlet,  and  the  opening  of  the 
Greenwich  road  had  cut  it  off  from  the  river  on  that 
side  also,  and  now  Broadway  was  to  be  led  across  tlio 
deep  ravine  that  separated  the  twin  hills  that  lay 
above  and  below  it.  Before  that  was  done,  hosvever, 
Brennan  (Spring)  street  had  been  laid  out  from  tho 
Hudson  Biver  across   the  island  toward  the  Bowery 

8* 


178  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

road ;  and  on  both  sides  of  that  road  streets  had  been 
opened,  both  parallel  and  perpendicular  to  it,  which 
were  already  partially  occupied  by  gentlemen's  coun- 
try residences  and  the  humble  cottages  of  the  poor, 
who  had  gone  beyond  the  city  to  obtain  pure  air  and 
cheap  rents.  All  along  the  East  Kiver,  up  as  far  as 
Corlear's  Hook,  streets  had  been  projected,  and  some 
of  them  opened  and  partially  occupied. 

§  176.   Greenwich  and  Bowery  villages. 

About  two  miles  above  the  city  were  two  small  and 
irregular  villages — one  on  either  side  of  the  island. 
Of  these  Greenwich,  on  the  Hudson  Eiver,  was  much 
the  most  populous ;  and  continuing  to  increase  it 
became  a  large  suburb,  till  it  was  finally  swallowed 
up  by  the  increasing  magnitude  of  the  city.  Its 
identity  is  still  traceable  in  the  want  of  conformity  of 
the  plan  of  this  quarter  of  the  city  to  that  of  the  por- 
tions that  surround  it.  On  the  east  side,  on  the  Bow- 
ery road  near  the  homestead  of  the  Stuy vesants,  there 
was  a  cluster  of  dwellings  that  at  length  became  a 
village  ;  and  that  in  its  turn  was  merged  in  the  great 
city.  Eastward  from  the  Bowery  the  plan  of  the 
city  was  limited  by  North  (Houston)  street,  beyond 
which  it  was  deemed  impossible  that  it  could  be  ex- 
tended. Broadway  was  laid  out  so  as  to  extend  in  a 
right  line  upward  till  it  should  intersect  the  Boston 
road,  now  called  the  Bowery ;  and  between  this  and 
the  Bowery  a  number  of  streets  were  opened.  West 
of  Broadway  the  northern  line  of  the  plan  of  the  city 
was  first  at  Spring-street,  and  several  years  later  at 
Houston-street,  eastward  from  Greenwich. 


CO^DlTlOiS'  AJSD  PROGRESS.  179 

§  177.   The '^'^  Collect,'''' or  fresh-water  pond. 

The  advancement  of  the  city,  however,  seemed  to  be 
retarded  and  its  plan  misshapen  by  the  unregulated 
localities  about  the  Fresh  Pond — or,  as  the  Dutch  de- 
nominated it,  the  Kolch,  which  name  had  now  become 
pretty  generally  current,  but  half-translated  and  half- 
corrupted  into  the  "  Collect."  This  little  lake  was 
even  then,  after  all  the  marrings  it  had  received  from 
the  hand  of  art,  a  deep,  broad,  and  pure  sheet  of  wa- 
ter, fed  by  perennial  springs,  and  affording  a  plentiful 
supply  of  its  useful  element  for  all  the  wants  of  the 
city.  Its  southern  and  eastern  banks  were  now  lined 
with  furnaces,  potteries,  breweries,  tanneries,  and  rope- 
walks,  all  drawing  from  it  their  supplies  of  water. 
It  was  also  used  for  purposes  of  pleasure  and  recrea- 
tion. In  summer  it  was  the  scene  of  rural  aquatic 
excursions,  and  in  Avinter  the  grand  resort  of  the 
youth  for  skating.  These  exhilarating  sports  are 
thus  described  by  one*  who  was  himself  a  participant 
in  them : — "  No  person  who  has  not  beheld  it  can 
realize  the  scene  it  then  exhibited,  in  contrast  to  that 
part  of  the  city  under  which  it  now  lies  buried.  The 
ground  between  the  Collect  and  Broadway  rose  grad- 
ually from  its  margin  to  the  height  of  one  hundred 
feet ;  and  nothing  can  exceed,  in  brilliancy  and  ani- 
mation, the  prospect  it  presented  on  a  fine  winter-day, 
when  the  icy  surface  was  alive  with  skaters,  darting 
in  every  direction  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind,  or 
bearing  down  in  a  body  in  pursuit  of  the  ball  driven 
before  them  by  their  hurlies ;  while  the  hillside  was 

^^  Hon.  W.  A.  Dwe;,— Address  before  the  St.  Nicholas  Society, 
1849. 


180  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK; 

covered  with  spectators,  rising  as  in  an  amphitheatre, 
tier  above  tier,  comprising  as  many  of  the  fair  sex  as 
were  sufficient  to  adorn,  and  necessary  to  refine  the 
assemblage — while  their  presence  served  to  increase 
the  emulation  of  the  skaters." 

^  178.  Early  steam  navigation  on  the  "  Collect.'''' 

This  little  lake,  now  forever  blotted  from  the  map 
of  our  city,  was  also  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting, and,  as  respects  its  results,  one  of  the  most 
important  events  that  the  world  ever  saw.  That  was 
nothing  less  than  the  original  experiment  in  steam 
navigation.  Here,  in  1795,  was  exhibited  by  John 
Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  a  boat  with  a  screw  propeller 
driven  by  a  steam  engine.  The  next  year  another 
experiment  was  made  in  the  same  place  by  John 
Fitch,  the  real  inventor  of  steam  navigation,  with  a 
ship's  yawl,  into  which  he  had  placed  a  rude  steam- 
engine  of  his  own  construction,  with  paddle-wheels  at 
the  sides  of  the  boat.  These  experiments,  with  Fitch's 
invention,  were  made  in  the  presence  and  under  the 
inspection  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  Stevens,  and 
Eoosevelt,  and  doubtless  afforded  many  of  the  facts 
and  sug'a'estions  throu2,'h  which  Fulton  made  the  art 
available  for  useful  purposes.  Fitch  Avas  in  advance 
of  the  men  of  his  own  times,  and  so  was  not  appre- 
ciated;  but  justice  should  now  be  rendered  to  his 
name,  and  the  city  of  New -York,  which  owes  so  much 
to  steam  navigation,  should  not  fail  to  do  honor  to  its 
original  inventor,  who,  after  a  life  of  fruitful  experi- 
ments and  laltora,  died  in  poverty  and  obscurity. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  181 

^179.    The  powder-house  knoll. 

An  island  toward  the  western  end  of  the  Collect  had 
long  been  occupied  by  a  magazine  for  storing  gun- 
powder. This  island  was  at  length  united  to  the 
main-land  by  a  dike  and  causeway,  to  which 'a  street 
led  from  Broadway,  called  Magazine-street ;  and,  still 
later,  it  was  extended  eastward  also  to  Chatham-street. 
Magazine-street  has  since  been  made  a  continuation  of 
Pearl-street,  by  which  addition  that  famous  thorough- 
fare is  rendered  a  little  the  most  crooked  and  irregular 
in  this  city  of  crooked  and  irregular  streets. 

§  180.  A  plan  for  converting  the  "  Collect''''  into  a. park. 

In  1789  a  plan  was  proposed  for  converting  this 
pond  and  the  grounds  adjacent  to  the  embellishment 
of  the  city.  A  company  was  organized,  and  a  plan 
drawn  for  a  park,  to  embrace  the  entire  Collect,  and 
extending  from  .Ecade-street  northward  to  the  present 
location  of  Grand-street,  and  including  the  eminence 
to  the  north-east,  commonly  called  Bunker's  Hill. 
The  company  looked  to  the  sale  of  lots,  to  be  laid  out 
around  the  park,  to  more  than  remunerate  them  for 
their  expenses.  But  the  thrifty  manufacturers,  whose 
establishments  lined  the  sides  of  the  water,  had  more 
confidence  in  their  shops  and  trades  than  in  the  pro- 
posed speculation  ;  and  capitalists  generally  were  slow 
to  believe  that  the  future  growth  of  the  city  would 
justify  the  expectations  on  which  the  proposed  outlay 
was  to  be  built,  and  so  the  whole  scheme  failed  to  be 
realized. 


182  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

^  181.  Another  plan  to  make  it  an  inland  basin. 

It  was  subsequently  proposed  to  render  the  Collect 
subservient  to  the  interests  of  commerce  by  making 
it  a  great  inland  dock,  connected  by  ship-canals  with 
both  rivers,  and  having  its  shores  fringed  with  wharves 
and  warehouses.  By  actual  surveys,  the  practicability 
of  the  plan  was  proved  beyond  a  question.  The  sur- 
face of  the  pond  was  about  thirteen  feet  above  the 
surrounding  waters,  so  that  only  the  depth  necessary 
for  purposes  of  commerce  would  be  required  to  give  a 
free  circulation  to  the  tide  through  the  canal.  This 
plan  also  contemplated  the  redemption  of  about  four 
hundred  acres  of  land  from  the  marshes,  which,  being 
completely  drained  by  the  canal,  would  become  avail- 
able as  sites  for  residences,  and  the  alarming  evils 
feared,  and  since  realized,  by  the  choking  up  of  this 
morass,  would  be  effectually  avoided.  The  distance 
from  river  to  river  over  the  route  proposed  for  the 
canal,  was  found  to  be  a  little  more  than  a  mile  and 
a  quarter. 

§  182.   The  "  Collect  ^^  finally  and  totalhj  destroyed. 

But  while  a  portion  of  the  citizens  were  thus  con- 
sulting in  regard  to  the  great  interests  of  the  city  in 
these  matters,  individual  enterprize,  without  concert 
or  general  system,  was  pushing  forward  the  growth 
of  the  city,  till  the  very  existence  of  the  quiet  little 
lake  beffan  to  be  in  dano-er.  Both  on  its  eastern  and 
western  sides  the  streets  began  to  project  up  beyond 
it,  and  the  cross  streets  headed  hard  down  against 
it.  The  extension  of  Magazine-street  eastward  divided 
the  pond  into  two  parts,  called  the  great  and  the  little 


CONDITION  AND  PKOGRESS.  Ia8 

Collect.  Soon  after  the  "  Powder-house  knoll  "  was 
cut  down  and  thrown  into  the  water ;  and  not  much 
later,  "  Bunker  Hill "  followed  in  the  same  inglorious 
path.  Broadway  had  heen  ordered  to  he  extended 
through  the  hills  and  across  the  intervening  ravine 
to  the  region  traversed  by  the  great  cross-road,  cover- 
ing the  present  site  of  Spring-street.  The  grand  level- 
ing system,  by  which  the  natural  landmarks  of  a 
great  portion  of  Manhattan  Island  have  become  en- 
tirely effaced,  then  began  an  efficient  course  of  opera- 
tion, and  in  a  short  time  one  of  the  most  irregular 
portions  of  the  ground-plot  of  the  city — comprising 
the  present  sixth  w^ard — was  dug  down  or  filled  up,  as 
the  case  required.  Under  the  operation  of  this  sys- 
tem the  Collect  at  length  totally  disappeared,  and  in 
its  place  we  have  the  region  of  the  Five  Points ;  the 
seat  of  the  Halls  of  Justice,  commonly  called  the 
Tombs;  and,  till  just  now,  have  had  the  Arsenal— a 
poor  exchange  for  what  it  was,  or  what  it  might  have 
been  made. 

"  The  destruction  of  the  Collect,''  says  the  writer 
just  quoted,  "is  the  great  opprobrium  of  our  muni- 
cipal legislation.  It  cut  off  the  spring  from  which 
the  city  was  supplied  with  pure  and  wholesome  water 
from  a  perennial  source,  and  in  a  volume  sufficient 
for  its  permanent  supply,  at  a  cost  not  to  be  mentioned 
in  comparison  with  that  of  the  Croton  aqueduct; 
while,  in  lieu  of  a  clear  and  picturesque  sheet  of  living- 
water  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  which,  if  preserved, 
would  have  conduced  to  its  salubrity,  and  might  have 
been  rendered  its  greatest  ornament,  has  been  sub- 
stituted a  damp  and  sunken  district,  which,  if  capable 
of  any  further  improvement  than  that  derived  from 


184  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

the  Arsenal  and  Halls  of  Justice,  is  certainly  not  cal- 
culated to  invite  it." 

§  183.   Great  fire  in  Front-street. 

This  prosperity  of  the  city  was,  however,  attended 
by  some  unfavorable  and  even  disastrous  accompani- 
ments. In  addition  to  the  frequent  recurrence  and 
great  fatality  of  yellow-fever,  the  city  suffered  greatly 
from  the  ravages  of  fire.  On  the  night  of  the  18th 
of  December,  1804,  a  fire  broke  out  at  about  two 
o^ clock  in  a  grocery-store  in  Front-street,  not  far  from 
Wall-street,  which,  being  favored  by  a  high  wind  and 
an  intensely  cold  air,  progressed  very  rapidly  ;  and  as 
the  firemen  assembled  rather  tardily,  and  the  engines 
were  worked  with  difficulty  on  account  of  the  cold,  it 
obtained  great  headway,  and  destroyed  a  large  amount 
of  valuable  property.  It  burned  the  whole  block  on 
the  west  side  of  Coffee  House-slip,  in  Water-street,  to 
Gouverneur-lane,  including  all  the  buildings  in  Front- 
street  to  the  water,  and  on  the  east  of  Wall-street 
down  to  the  slip.  Among  the  buildings  destroyed 
were  the  old  Coffee  House,  and  several  valuable  brick 
stores  ;  but  most  of  them  were  wooden  structures  of 
no  great  value,  which  were  soon  replaced  by  new  and 
fire-proof  edifices.  About  forty  buildings  in  all  were 
consumed,  and  the  destruction  of  property  estimated 
to  amount  to  about  ;g2,000,000. 

^  181.   Cold  winter  of  1804-5. 

The  winter  in  which  this  fire  occurred  was  remark- 
able for  its  severity,  and  for  the  suffering  caused  by 
it  among  the  poor,  especially  for  want  of  fuel.  Im- 
mense quantities  of  snow  encumbered  the  streets,  and 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  185 

in  many  cases  rendered  them  almost  impassable. 
Nearly  all  kinds  of  business  were  suspended  or  greatly 
curtailed  ;  fuel  rose  to  an  exorbitant  price,  while  the 
poorer  classes  were  without  employment,  and  conse- 
quently destitute  of  the  means  to  purchase  at  any 
price.  But,  with  characteristic  zeal  and  alacrity,  the 
corporation  and  private  citizens  devoted  themselves 
to  their  relief.  Large  amounts  of  fuel  and  provisions 
were  distributed  by  the  corporation,  and  by  temporary 
associations  of  benevolent  individuals,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  poor. 

^  185.    The  City  Hall  projected  and  built. 

The  rapid  extension  of  the  city  toward  the  north, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  began  to  sug- 
gest the  necessity  of  fixing  a  permanent  location  for 
the  public  buildings  at  some  suitable  point  above  the 
old  and  densely  occupied  part  of  the  city;  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  Common,  already  occupied  by  the 
bridewell,  jail,  and  alms-house,  was  selected  as  the 
site  of  the  new  City  Hall.-  In  October,  1802,  the 
Common  Council  voted  to  erect  such  a  buildino-  to 
cost  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  a  premium  was 
offered  for  the  best  plan  ;  but  no  plan  could  be  made 
that  was  at  all  acceptable  that  did  not  very  far  ex- 
ceed the  sum  designated  by  the  vote  of  the  corpora- 
tion. At  length,  after  much  doubt  and  hesitation, 
the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
was  devoted  to  that  object,  a  plan  adopted,  and  con- 
tracts for  building  made  ;  and  on  the  20th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1803,  the  foundation-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was 
laid  by  the  mayor  of  the  city,  Edward  Livingston, 

^  See  Frontispiece. 


186  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

with  all  due  ceremony.  The  marhle  of  which  the 
City  Hall  was  built  was  brought  from  Stockbridge,  in 
Massachusetts,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles,  though  now  marble  of  a  superior  quality  is 
quarried  only  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  But  these 
rich  supplies  of  excellent  building  materials,  which 
are  now  contributing  so  much  to  the  embellishment 
and  value  of  New -York,  were  then  entirely  unknown. 
The  marble  was  to  be  delivered  in  New -York  at  a 
dollar  and  six  cents  per  foot,  which  price  was  after- 
ward increased  to  a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents ;  but 
the  contract  proved  ruinous  to  the  undertaker,  and 
was  at  length  abandoned.  A  new  contract  was  then 
made,  by  which  three  dollars  per  foot  were  allowed. 
The  copper  used  in  roofing  the  new  edifice  was  im- 
ported from  England,  and  cost  the  city  ten  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars.  In  1811  the  corporation  oflSces 
were  removed  to  the  new  hall,  although  the  work  was 
not  completed  till  the  next  year.  The  whole  cost,  ex- 
clusive of  the  furniture,  was  half  a  million  of  dollars, 
or  just  twice  the  amount  of  the  original  contract.  At 
the  time  of  its  erection,  the  new  City  Hall  was  among 
the  noblest  structures  in  the  whole  country ;  nor  has 
the  lapse  of  forty  years  since  it  was  finished,  though 
in  that  time  the  wealth  of  the  country  has  been  vastly 
augmented,  and  attention  to  architecture  gTcatly  in- 
creased, removed  it  from  its  place  in  the  first  class  of 
public  edifices  in  America.  It  stands  as  a  monument 
of  the  foresight  and  public  spirit  of  the  public  men  of 
New -York,  who,  in  the  comparative  infancy  of  the 
city,  and  with  its  limited  resources,  conceived  and 
executed  so  noble  a  work. 


CONDITION  AND  PROGRESS.  187 

^  186.  Introduction  of  steam  navigation. 

The  year  1807  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  an- 
nals of  the  city  of  New-York,  as  the  time  of  the  first 
successful  experiment  in  an  art  that  is  rapidly  revo- 
lutionizing the  commercial  and  social  affairs  of  the 
world.  It  was  jn  that  year  that  the  first  steamboat 
ever  built,  capable  of  being  applied  to  useful  purposes, 
was  launched  upon  the  waters  of  the  Hudson,  and  be- 
gan plying  between  New- York  and  Albany.  That 
vessel  was  the  "Clermont,^'  which  had  been  construct- 
ed under  the  personal  supervision  of  Eobert  Fulton, 
the  justly  celebrated  father  of  steam  navigation. 
It  was  at  fir§t  one  hundred  feet  long,  twelve  feet  wide, 
and  seven  feet  deep ;  the  next  year  it  was  lengthened 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  widened  to  eigh- 
teen, and  its  name  changed  to  the-  North  Kiver. 
The  passage  to  Albany  was  made  in  thirty-six  hours, 
and  at  an  expense  of  seven  dollars.  A  contemporary 
record  states  that  "  Mr.  Fulton's  new  steamboat  left 
New -York  on  the  2d  [of  October,  1807,].  at  10  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  against  a  strong  tide,  very  rough  water,  and  a 
violent  gale  from  the  north.  She  made  headway 
beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectations,  and  without 
being  rocked  by  the  waves."  Such  was  the  beginning 
of  steam  navigation  — the  noblest  material  agency  of 
the  spirit  of  the  age — the  great  instrument  of  "  prog- 
ress." 

§  187.   Further  enlargement  of  the  city. 

After  the  city  had  gotten  fairly  over  the  swampy 
barrier  that  for  a  while  confined  it  to  the  lower  ex- 
tremity of  the  island,  it  extended  with  unprecedented 
rapidity,  and  at  the  close  of  the  period  embraced  in 


188  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

this  chapter  (1810)  it  covered  more  than  four  times 
the  area  that  it  embraced  twenty  years  before.  Broad- 
way had  been  opened  through  to  the  Bowery,  and  on 
either  side  streets  were  laid  out  as  far  up  as  Amity 
and  Great  Jones-streets.  In  1808  the  corporation  of 
Trinity  Church  ceded  to  the  city  the  ground  for  the 
streets  covering  the  region  extending*  from  St.  John's 
church  to  Greenwich  village,  and  from  Hudson-street 
to  the  river.  Hudson-square  -was  laid  out  about  the 
same  time.  To  the  east  of  the  Bowery,  the  streets  run- 
ning eastward  were  laid  out  as  high  up  as  North  (Hous- 
ton) street,  which  had  been  fixed  as  the  permanent 
boundary  of  the  city;  and  crossing  these ^the  present 
streets  were  laid  out  as  far  east  as  Norfolk-street. 

^  188.  Increase  of  population,  commerce^  etc. 

The  population  of  the  city  in  1810  was  over  ninety- 
six  thousand  ;  having  added  thirty-six  thousand  in  ten 
years,  and  increased  nearly  threefold  in  twenty  years. 
The  commerce  of  the  city  had  made  an  equally 
encouraging  progress  down  to  1808,  when  it  was  sud- 
denly checked  by  the  unsettled  state  of  our  foreign 
affairs,  and  soon  after  almost  annihilated  by  the  em- 
bargo. The  duties  on  foreign  goods  collected  in  the 
port  of  New -York  during  the  year  1807  amounted  to 
nearly  $8,000,000,  and  the  exports  for  the  same  year 
exceeded  $26,000,000.  The  auction-tax  for  1808  pro- 
duced over  $24,000 ;  the  Brooklyn  ferry  leased  for 
$3,050,  and  the  wharves  and  piers  for  $17,000.  The 
amount  of  market-fees  for  the  next  year  was  over 
$6,000,  and  the  tavern-fees  as  much  more.  The  city's 
funded  debts  amounted  to  $900,000.  But  a  change 
was  impending. 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.        189 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NEW-YORK  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 
§  189.  Commercial  embarrassments — the  embargo. 

The  rapid  advancement  of  the  city  of  New -York 
during  the  period  embraced  in  the  last  chapter,  re- 
sulting from  its  commercial  prosperity,  received  a 
serious  check  before  the  close  of  that  period.  The 
bloody  wars  that  were  raging  in  Europe  during  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  especially  that 
between  France  and  Great  Britain,  greatly  embar- 
rassed the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the 
same  time  endangered  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
government.  Accordingly,  to  prevent  collisions,  and 
to  secure  our  commerce  from  foreign  spoliations,  a 
general  embargo  was,  in  1808,  imposed  by  an  act  of 
Congress.  The  effect  of  this  law  was  fatal  to  the 
commerce  of  the  whole  country,  and  of  course  it  was 
ruinous  to  the  prosperity  of  New -York.  Though  the 
embargo  was  in  force  but  a  few  months,  (for  it  was  so 
unacceptable  to  the  people  that  Congress  repealed  it 
at  the  next  session,)  yet  the  loss  to  the  government 
in  duties  at  the  single  port  of  New -York  amounted, 
in  the  two  years,  a  part  of  which  were  embraced  in 
the  time  of  the  embargo,  as  compared  with  the  pre- 
ceding year,  to  more  than  seven  millions  of  dollars ; 
and  the  exports  for  those  two  years  were  but  little 
more  than  half  of  that  for  the  single  year  of  1807. 
The  repeal  of  the  embargo,  and  the  restoration  of 
comparative  quiet  in  Europe,  reassured  the  merchants 
of  New -York,  so  that  during  the  ensuing  year  com- 


190  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

merce  revived  again,  tliougli  it  was  still  much  below 
the  point  it  had  reached  before  the  embargo  was  im- 
posed. The  progress  of  the  city  was  greatly  impeded 
by  these  interruptions  to  its  commerce,  and  the  con- 
sequent depression  of  all  kinds  of  business  among  the 
citizens. 

§  190.  Public  defenses  projected. 
The  unsettled  state  of  European  affairs,  and  the 
threatening  aspect  assumed  by  some  of  the  belliger- 
ents toward  the  United  States,  suggested  the  neces- 
sity of  fortifying  more  effectually  the  principal  sea- 
port towns.  As  early  as  1806  some  movements  in 
that  direction  had  been  made  in  New -York.  The  old 
Potter's-field,  at  the  junction  of  the  Bloomingdale 
and  Post-roads,  was  ceded  to  the  general  government, 
on  which  an  extensive  arsenal  was  erected.  The 
ground  under  water  off  from  the  Battery  was  also 
S-ranted,  and  a  fortress  called  Castle  Clinton  erected 
upon  it — the  modern  Castle  Garden.  Fort  Ganse- 
voort,  at  Greenwich  village,  and  the  battery  at  the 
foot  of  Hubert-street,  were  constructed  about  the  same 
time,  the  whole  costing  the  government  several  mil- 
lions of  dollars. 

§  191.  Fortification  of  the  harbor. 
In  1807  Colonel  Williams,  of  the  United  States 
engineers,  made  a  long  report  to  the  common  council 
as  to  the  best  mode  of  fortifying  the  city  and  harbor. 
At  his  suggestion  the  fortress  on  Governor's  Island, 
that  bears  his  name,  was  afterward  built,  as  well  as 
several  other  works  of  defense  at  the  Narrows,  and  on 
Ellis's  and  Bedlow's  Islands.  The  whole  amount  of 
ordnance  found  in  and  about  the  city  was  only  about 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  191 

one  hundred  and  twenty  pieces,  of  all  sizes,  part  of 
them  belonging  to  the  State,  and  part  to  the  national 
government.  At  a  little  later  period  the  State  Ar- 
senal in  Elm-street,  near  the  site  of  the  old  powder- 
house  in  the  Collect,  was  built,  and  substituted  for  the 
old  and  insufficient  one  formerly  occupied,  which  stood 
in  Chatham-street,  near  Tryon  Eow. 

§  192.  Mayoralty  of  De  Witt  Clinton. 

A  lull  occurred  about  the  year  1810  in  the  storm 
of  warlike  excitement  that  had  been  sweeping  over 
the  city  for  some  time  past,  and  affairs  began  again  to 
assume  their  former  quiet  and  prosperous  state.  The 
next  year  De  Witt  Clinton,  afterward  governor  of  the 
State,  and  projector  of  the  great  Erie  Canal,  who,  with 
the  exception  of  two  brief  intervals  of  a  year  each, 
during  which  that  office  was  held  by  Colonel  Marinus 
Willet  and  Jacob  Eadcliff  respectively,  had  filled  the 
office  of  mayor  of  the  city  since  1803,  was  again 
elected  to  that  office,  and  continued  to  fill  it,  greatly 
to  the  advantage  of  the  city,  for  six  years  more. 

§  193.  Destructive  fire  in  Chatham-street, 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1811,  a  destructive  fire  occur- 
red near  the  junction  of  Chatham  and  Duane-streets. 
It  broke  out  on  Sunday  morning,  and  raged  with 
great  violence  for  several  hours.  A  brisk  wind  was 
blowing  from  the  north-east  at  the  time,  which  so 
drove  the  fire  before  it,  that  for  a  while  it  wholly 
baffled  the  efforts  of  the  firemen  and  citizens.  It 
swept  along  both  sides  of  Chatham-street,  to  the  open 
grounds  near  the  City  Hall,  leveling  nearly  a  hun- 
dred buildings  in  its  course.    The  steeple  of  the  Brick 


192  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

churcli,  and  the  cupola  of  tlie  jail,  both  caught  fire, 
but  were  extinguished,  one  by  an  intrepid  sailor,  who 
ascended  the  burning  spire  and  removed  the  ignited 
portions ;  the  other  by  an  imprisoned  debtor,  then  on 
the  jail  limits.     Both  were  liberally  rewarded. 

§  194.  Washington  market  established. 

The  next  year  measures  were  adopted  to  secure  a 
more  eligible  site  for  a  market  on  the  Hudson  Eiver. 
A  block,  bounded  by  Fulton  and  Vesey-streets,  on  the 
north  and  south,  and  lying  between  Washington-street 
and  the  river,  was  purchased  of  Colonel  Eichard 
Yarick,  at  a  cost  of  ^54:2,000,  upon  which  was  soon 
after  erected  the  Bear  (Washington)  market. 

§  195,  Plan  of  the  city  finally  established. 

Some  years  before  the  time  now  immediately  under 
notice,  the  legislature  of  the  State  had  appointed  a 
board  of  commissioners,  among  whom  wereGouverneur 
Morris  and  De  Witt  Clinton,  to  survey  and  lay  out 
in  streets  and  avenues  the  whole  area  of  Manhattan 
Island.  This  great  work  was  now  steadily  advancing, 
and,  by  its  accomplishment,  the  upper  portion  of  the 
city  has  become  as  remarkable  for  the  excellence  of 
its  plan,  as  some  of  the  older  portion  is  for  the  oppo- 
site properties.  This  work  was  not  fully  completed 
till  several  years  later,  when  (in  1821)  Mr.  John 
Bandall,  after  ten  years'  incessant  labor,  completed 
the  surveys  and  finished  his  maps  of  the  whole  island 
above  North  (Houston)  street  and  Greenwich-lane. 
This  survey  cost  more  than  ;g30,000,  and  its  worth  to 
the  city  has  proved  beyond  computation.  A  "  grand 
parade  ground"  had  been  laid  out  by  the  commission- 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.        193 

ers,  and  a  square,  to  be  called  Union-place,  at  tlie 
junction  of  Broadway  and  the  Bowery;  but  after  a 
protracted  contest,  it  was  finally  decided  to  reduce 
the  size  of  the  former,  and  to  abolish  the  latter — 
though  it  has  since  been  restored,  and  is  now  among 
the  chief  ornaments  of  the  city. 

§  196.    War  ivith  Great  Britain. 

The  occurrence  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  in  1812,  was  highly  disastrous  to 
the  interests  of  the  city  of  New -York.  Its  commerce, 
which,  during  the  two  preceding  years,  had  regained 
a  good  measure  of  its  former  buoyancy,  was  at  once 
greatly  depressed,  and  at  length  almost  entirely  an- 
nihilated. The  duties  collected  at  that  port  during 
the  two  years  next  succeeding  the  declaration  of  war 
amounted  to  but  little  over  ;^20,000,  and  the  gross 
value  of  exports  for  the  year  1814  was  only  about 
j5(200,000.  Such  a  depression  of  the  foreign  com- 
merce of  the  city  could  not  fail  to  affect  every  depart- 
ment of  business.  Goods  of  foreign  production  be- 
came exceedingly  scarce,  and  prices  rose  to  enormous 
heights.  Those  who  had  on  hand  large  stocks  be- 
came suddenly  rich ;  and  others,  by  the  sudden  de- 
pression of  prices  that  occurred  subsequently,  were 
totally  ruined.  Much  embarrassment  and  even  suf- 
fering were  experienced  by  the  poorer  classes,  on  ac- 
count of  the  failure  of  all  kinds  of  business,  and  the 
exorbitant  prices  demanded  for  all  the  necessaries  of 
living. 

•  §  197.  Privateering. 

An  immediate  effect  of  the  declaration  of  war  was 
the  letting  loose  of  a  great  number  of  privateers, 

9 


194  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK 

many  of  which  were  fitted  out  from  New -York.  By 
this  legalized  piracy  a  great  amount  of  property  he- 
longing  to  British  subjects  was  plundered  at  sea,  and 
brought  into  New -York,  where  for  a  while  the  en- 
riched freebooters  glittered  in  their  ill-gotten  splendor, 
and  exerted  a  most  corrupting  influence  on  society. 

^  198.  Naval  heroes  visit  New -York. 

In  the  course  of  the  war  several  naval  prizes  were 
also  brought  into  New-Y'^ork,  and  the  freedom  of  the 
city,  and  other  marks  of  public  favor  were  awarded  to 
a  great  number  of  successful  naval  commanders.  Por- 
traits of  several  of  these  were  taken  at  the  expense  of 
the  corporation,  which  still  adorn  the  walls  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Eoom  in  the  City  Hall,  and  their  names  are 
now  perpetuated  among  us  by  streets  that  were  called 
after  them. 

§  199.  Exposed  condition  of  the  city. 

The  defenseless  condition  of  the  city  was  at  this 
time  such  as  to  give  great  uneasiness  to  the  more  in- 
telligent and  discreet  of  the  citizens ;  for  while  the 
multitude  were  occupied  with  reports  of  conflicts  and 
victories  in  distant  parts,  the  exposed  condition  of  the 
city  to  an  attack  from  sea  was  scarcely  thought  of  by 
them.  At  length,  however,  public  attention  began  to 
be  directed  to  this  subject.  The  British  navy  was 
then  riding  the  ocean  in  triumph  :  for  if  it  were  proved 
that  our  fri2:ates  could  match  theirs  at  the  rates  of 
one  to  their  two,  they  could,  with  their  combined  fleets, 
give  us  much  more  than  ten  to  our  one.  It  was  only 
when  single  straggling  vessels  were  fallen  in  with  that 
there  was  any  chance  for  success  to  the  American  navy. 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  195 

In  the  summer  of  1814  the  people  of  New -York  were 
aroused  from  their  fancied  security  by  information 
that  that  city  had  been  selected  as  the  point  of  descent 
for  a  powerful  naval  and  military  force,  destined  to 
act  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Some  feeble  efforts 
toward  fortifying  the  city  and  harbor  had  been  made 
already ;  a  flotilla  of  gun-boats  had  been  provided  and 
equipped,  and  some  very  inadequate  fortifications  con- 
structed at  the  expense  of  the  city. 

§  200.  Fortifications  and  military  defenses. 

The  general  government  now  made  a  requisition  on 
the  states  of  New -York  and  New- Jersey  for  twenty 
thousand  militia,  to  be  concentrated  in  and  around 
the  city  ;  and  the  corporation  advanced,  under  pledges 
of  reimbursement,  the  funds  necessary  to  meet  the 
expense.  Fortified  camps  were  ordered  to  be  formed 
on  the  high  ground  at  Harlem  and  at  Brooklyn.  A 
committee  of  defense  was  appointed,  who  called  upon 
the  citizens,  without  distinction  of  classes,  for  contri- 
butions in  labor,  toward  making  the  required  fortifica- 
tions. The  call  thus  made  was  responded  to  with 
great  alacrity,  and  companies  of  from  five  hundred 
to  a  thousand  were  daily  occupied  in  the  work.  It 
was  computed  that  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
days'  work  were  thus  contributed,  in  which  many  per- 
sons wholly  unused  to  such  occupations  wrought  dili- 
gently for  the  public  defense.  A  lively  feeling  of 
patriotism  and  of  self-reliance  was  thus  awakened 
among  the  people,  which  was  itself  the  surest  pledge 
of  the  public  safety.  In  Brooklyn  a  line  of  fortifica- 
tions extended  from  the  Wallabout  to  Gowanus,  con- 
sisting of  forts  Green,  Firemen's,  Masonic,  and  Law- 


196  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

rence,  witli  Fort  Swift  in  the  rear,  commanding  Gov- 
ernor's Island.  In  New -York,  a  chain  of  fortifications 
extended  from  Hurlgate  to  the  Hudson  Eiver.  Both 
of  these  lines  were  strongly  manned,  and  furnished 
with  a  good  supply  of  artillery,  ammunition,  and  mil- 
itary stores.  The  forts  along  the  Hudson,  and  on  the 
islands  of  the  harhor,  were  bristling  with  cannon  and 
crowded  with  soldiers.  Commodore  Decatur,  with  a 
body  of  seamen,  was  stationed  in  front  of  the  city,  to 
defend  it  by  water,  should  such  a  service  be  required. 
The  whole  city  seemed  to  be  pervaded  by  the  military 
spirit ;  and  while  an  attack  was  daily  expected,  there 
appeared  to  be  a  readiness,  and  even  a  desire  for  the 
conflict.    But,  happily,  the  day  of  trial  never  came. 

^  201.  ^^  Mustering  out.^^ 

A  large  portion  of  the  militia  having  been  drawn 
for  only  three  months,  the  force  in  the  city  was  greatly 
reduced  before  the  setting  in  of  the  winter.  On  the 
last  day  of  November  a  great  military  pageant  was 
exhibited  on  the  occasion  of  the  discharge  of  the  three- 
months'  recruits.  A  line  was  formed  in  Broadway,  rest- 
ing on  Franklin-street,  and  extending  beyond  the 
junction  of  Broadway  and  the  Bowery.  The  column 
then  moved  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city, 
headed  by  the  governor  of  the  State,  Daniel  D.  Tomp- 
kins, acting  in  his  military  character  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  militia  of  the  State,  attended  by  his 
stafl";  and,  after  passing  in  review,  the  troops  were 
mustered  out  of  service  and  discharged.  The  money 
with  which  the  discharged  troops  were  paid  off  was 
also  advanced  by  the  corporation  to  the  amount  of 
half  a  million  dollars,  all  of  which  was  subsequently 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  197 

refunded  by  the  general  government.  News  of  the 
signing  of  a  treaty  of  peace  was  received  a  few  months 
later,  and  was  the  occasion  of  a  very  general  joy  among 
the  people.  A  grand  illumination  took  place  on  the 
evening  of  the  19th  of  February,  and  the  city  was 
again  quiet. 

§  202.  Further  eommercial  embarrassments. 

Though  New- York  had  been  saved  from  the  horrors 
of  actual  war  in  its  midst,  it  had  not  failed  to  suffer 
greatly  as  a  commercial  city  in  consequence  of  the 
public  disturbances.  An  enumeration  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, made  at  the  end  of  1813,  showed  a  decrease  of 
more  than  two  thousand  since  1810.  Very  few  build- 
ings were  erected  during  the  five  years  from  1810  to 
1815,  while  both  public  and  private  indebtedness  in- 
creased to  an  alarming  extent,  threatening  a  universal 
bankruptcy.  •  The  banks  at  length  refused  to  redeem 
their  issues ;  the  public  stocks  fell  much  below  their 
par  value,  and  a  general  depression  was  felt  in  all  de- 
partments of  trade.  To  supply  the  lack  of  specie,  the 
corporation  issued  an  immense  amount  of  small  bills, 
which  for  a  long  time  was  the  chief  circulating  me- 
dium in  the  city.  The  high  prices  at  which  foreign 
goods  were  held  immediately  before  the  close  of  the 
war,  induced  large  importations  as  soon  as  peace  was 
restored.  The  revenue  from  duties  collected  at  New- 
York  rose  from  the  depression  of  1814,  when  it  scarcely 
exceeded  half  a  million  of  dollars,  to  over  fourteen  mill- 
ions the  succeeding  year.  The  goods  thus  imported 
at  a  cost  of  not  less  than  two  hundred  millions,  were 
procured  almost  exclusively  on  credit ;  while  the  ex- 
ports for  several  succeeding   years  failed*  to   reach 


198  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

even  the  moderate  standard  attained  to  before  the 
war,  and  therefore  they  came  vastly  short  of  balanc- 
ing the  costs  of  the  imports.  The  country  was  already 
thoroughly  drained  of  money,  and  of  course  the  conse- 
quence of  this  excessive  importation  was  commercial 
embarrassment  and  bankruptcy.  A  rapid  falling  off 
in  the  amount  of  importations  took  place  during  the 
ensuing  few  years,  and  in  1820  the  amount  was  con- 
siderably less  than  it  had  been  some  twelve  or  four- 
teen years  before. 

^  203.  Additional  public  buildings. 

Among  the  public  buildings  erected  about  this  time, 
the  most  considerable  was  the  alms-house  at  Bellevue. 
The  purchase  of  the  site  has  been  noticed  in  another 
place.  The  building  was  begun  in  1811,  and  com- 
pleted in  1816,  at  a  cost  to  the  city  (including  that  of 
the  penitentiary)  of  more  than  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars — a  noble  and  well-applied  public  charity.  The 
poor  of  the  city  were  immediately  removed  thither, 
and  the  old  alms-house  in  the  Park  appropriated  to 
other  public  uses.  The  new  Eoman-Catholic  cathe- 
dral in  Mott-street,  now  opening  into  Mulberry-street, 
was  completed  in  1815,  and  opened  with  great  cere- 
mony. Its  effect  has  been  to  render  that  portion  of 
the  city,  which  till  then  promised  to  become  one  of  the 
most  desirable  wards,  one  of  the  poorest  and  most  de- 
based. It  is  among  the  largest  ecclesiastical  edifices 
in  the  city,  ii^  tlie  Gothic  style  of  architecture ;  and, 
though  far  from  being  elegant,  it  is  an  imposing  and 
massive  public  structure.  The  Presbyterian  church 
in  Murray-street  was  built  of  stone  in  1812,  and  was, 
at  the  time  of  its  erection,  among  the  best  constructed 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  199 

churches  in  the  city.  Here  the  elder  Dr.  Mason  offi- 
ciated for  several  years,  till  compelled  to  retire  by 
want  of  health.  Tammany  Hall  was  erected  in  1811, 
the  Bear-market  in  1815,  and  a  few  years  later,  a 
fire  having  removed  the  old  wooden  buildings  from 
the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Fulton-market,  that 
building  was  erected  to  supersede  the  old  Fly  (more 
properly  Vly,  or  Valley)  market. 

^  204.  Further  public  improvements — population. 

The  extension  of  the  city  and  the  opening  of  new- 
streets,  though  greatly  checked,  was  not  wholly  sus- 
pended by  the  prostration  of  business  consequent  upon 
the  unsettled  condition  of  public  affairs.  Immediately 
after  the  plan  of  the  upper  part  of  the  city  was  defi- 
nitely arranged,  the  Third  Avenue  was  ordered  to  be 
opened  and  regulated  from  Stuyvesant-street  to  Har- 
lem Eiver ;  and  a  few  years  later  a  part  of  the  First 
Avenue  was  also  brought  into  use.  Several  of  the  old 
streets  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  were  widened, 
straightened,  and  extended.  Soon  after  the  return 
of  peace,  Broadway  above  Canal-street,  and  Spring  and 
Broome-streets  began  to  be  occupied  with  buildings, 
and  that  portion  of  the  city  advanced  rapidly  in  im- 
provements and  population.  But  the  greatest  public 
work  of  this  kind  undertaken  during  this  period  was 
the  opening  of  Canal-street.  An  immense  canal  was 
opened  from  the  Collect  to  the  Hudson  River,  by  which 
a  vast  extent  of  low  grounds  was  drained,  and  the 
pond  itself  almost  annihilated.  Over  this  canal  was 
thrown  an  arch  of  substantial  mason-work,  upon  which 
was  built  one  of  the  most  spacious  and  elegant  tho- 
roughfares in  the  city — the  whole  of  which  cost  about 


200  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  A  few  years 
later  the  Battery  was  enlarged  and  embellished,  as 
it  appears  at  present,  and  at  an  expense  of  more  than 
jjl 00,000.  Castle  Clinton  was  given  up  by  the  gen- 
eral government,  and,  taking  the  name  of  Castle  Gar- 
den, was  devoted  to  purposes  of  utility  and  pleasure. 
The  census  of  1820  showed  that  a  most  gratifying 
increase  of  population  had  occurred  during  the  few 
past  years;  it  now  amounted  to  123,706,  of  whom 
only  5,084  were  aliens,  and  528  slaves. 

^  205.    Yelloiv-fever  in  1822. 

In  July,  1822,  the  yellow-fever,  from  which  the 
city  had  suffered  so  severely  more  than  twenty  years 
before,  again  appeared  in  New -York.  For  fifteen 
years  before  1819  it  was  not  known  in  this  city,  though 
during  that  time  it  prevailed  fatally  in  some  of  the 
more  southern  cities  of  the  republic.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year  a  few  fatal  cases  occurred  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Old-slip,  and  produced  some  consternation 
in  that  vicinity,  but  it  did  not  extend  further.  But 
in  the  year  first-named  it  appeared  suddenly  in  Eec- 
tor-street^  and  soon  extended  through  the  vicinity  and 
up  to  Broadway.  The  epidemical  character  of  the 
disease  was  marked  and  exceedingly  malignant,  and 
the  contagion  unusually  active  and  violent.  By  the 
middle  of  August  the  epidemical  atmosphere  over- 
spread all  that  part  of  the  city  that  lies  below  the 
Park,  and  the  entire  population  of  the  infected  dis- 
trict fled  before  it.  The  Custom-house,  banks,  and 
insurance  oflfices,  as  well  as  the  warehouses  of  the 
merchants,  were  closed  and  abandoned,  or  removed  to 
temporary  quarters  at  Greenwich  village.    The  ferry- 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  201 

boats  landed  their  passengers  far  up-toAvn.  The  mar- 
kets were  removed  to  Chatham-square  and  Hudson- 
street,  near  St.  John's  Park.  The  streets  leading  to 
the  infected  district  were  fenced  across,  and  that  whole 
region  of  the  city  became  a  solitude,  traversed  only 
by  the  city  watch  and  hordes  of  burglars.  The  panic 
amono'  the  inhabitants  was  intense  and  almost  uni- 
versal.  Multitudes  fled  from  the  city,  and  a  great 
many  temporary  dwellings  were  hastily  constructed 
in  the  upper  wards,  especially  at  Greenwich  village. 
The  epidemic  lingered  about  the  lower  part  of  the 
city  till  extinguished  by  the  frosts  of  autumn,  when 
affairs  resumed  their  usual  course.  But  notwith- 
standing the  malignity  of  the  epidemic,  the  mortality 
caused  by  it  was  not  very  great,  since  nearly  all  the 
inhabitants  removed  from  the  infected  district.  The 
whole  number  of  deaths  by  yellow-fever  was  under 
four  hundred,  and  the  aggregate  mortality  in  the  city 
for  that  year  was  more  than  three  hundred  less  than 
during  the  preceding  year.  Since  then  the  yellow- 
fever  has  not  made  its  appearance  in  the  city  of  New- 
York. 

§  206.   Mayoralty  of  Stephen  Allen. 

•For  three  years  from  1821,  the  office  of  mayor  was 
held  by  Stephen  Allen,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  great 
worth  and  energy  of  character,  who  from  poverty  and 
obscurity  had  risen  to  wealth  by  successful  industry, 
and  to  public  confidence  by  unwavering  integrity.  At 
the  beginning  of  his  term  of  service  the  salary  of  the 
mayor,  which  hitherto  had  been  unsettled  and  varia- 
ble, and  paid  in  part  by  fees,  was  fixed  at  three  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.     The  duties  and  functions  of  the 

9^ 


202  CITY  OF  NEW-YURK 

office  were  also  better  defined,  and,  ceasing  to  act  as 
a  judicial  officer,  the  mayor  became  properly  the  chief 
executive  magistrate  of  the  municipality.  The  new 
mayor  also  brought  with  him  into  his  public  trust  the 
same  habits  of  order  and  energy  by  which  he  had  been 
so  eminently  successful  in  his  private  afi'airs.  The 
finances  of  the  city  were  found  by  him  in  a  very  un- 
satisfactory condition,  and  at  his  suggestion  measures 
of  retrenchment  and  economy  were  adopted,  and  also 
plans  for  the  more  perfect  development  of  the  city's 
resources.  These  measures  have  effected  much  for 
the  prosperity  of  the  city,  and  but  few  of  her  chief 
magistrates  have  conferred  greater  or  more  substan- 
tial favor  than  did  Mr.  Allen,  who  is  justly  ranted  as 
a  worthy  compeer  and  successor  of  those  great  public 
benefactors  who  had  held  the  same  office  before  him — 
of  James  Duane  and  Richard  Varick,  of  De  Witt 
Clinton  and  Cadwallader  D.  Colden. 

§  207.  Increase  of  the  city. 

At  this  time  the  city  of  New -York  was  increasing 
with  unprecedented  rapidity.  From  actual  enumera- 
tion, it  appeared  that  in  the  year  1 824  more  than  six- 
teen hundred  new  houses  were  erected,  nearly  all  of 
them  brick  or  stone.  The  price  of  real  estate  was 
also  greatly  increased.  The  erection  of  churches  and 
other  public  edifices  had  become  so  frequent  an  occur- 
rence as  to  forbid  notice  of  each  particular  case.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  island  the  city  proper  was  verging 
nearly  to  Greenwich  village,  which  was  also  expand- 
ing into  a  large  and  well-built  suburban  ward.  East- 
ward from-  the  Bowery  a  settlement  was  springing  up 
quite  beyond  the  compact  part  of  the  city.     In  the 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  203 

middle  portion,  on  both  sides  of  Broadway,  were  many 
half-rural  residences  of  retired  merchants  and  men  of 
wealth.  The  old  Potters-field  was  becoming  an  ob- 
stacle to  the  city's  progress  in  that  vicinity,  and  it  was 
accordingly  determined  to  level  and  grade  it,  to  be 
kept  as  a  public  promenade — the  present  Washington- 
square. 

i}  208.    The  Erie  Canal  celebration — growth. 

Down  to  this  time  the  progress  of  New-York  had 
resulted  almost  entirely  from  its  foreign  commerce 
and  river-navigation ;  but  now  public  attention  began 
to  be  directed  to  the  internal  resources  of  the  country. 
New  impulse  was  given  to  inland- trade  by  the  open- 
ing of  several  small  canals,  and  the  successful  adop- 
tion of  canal-navigation.  But  in  1825  all  other  works 
of  that  kind  were  wholly  eclipsed  by  the  completion 
of  the  gigantic  Erie  Canal.  This  great  event,  des- 
tined to  exert  so  powerful  an  influence  on  the  future 
growth  of  the  city,  was  celebrated  in  New-York,  in  the 
month  of  November,  by  an  aquatic  procession,  and  the 
significant  ceremony  of  pouring  water  brought  from 
Lake  Erie  into  the  sea-water  of  New-York  Bay.  The 
anticipation  then  entertained  of  advantage  from  this 
great  enterprise  has  been  much  more  than  realized. 
For  several  succeeding  years  the  progress  of  the  city 
was  steadily  and  uninterruptedly  onward.  In  1830 
the  population  exceeded  two  hundred  thousand,  while 
the  wealth  and  resources  of  the  city  were  increasing 
in  a  still  greater  ratio.  The  style  of  building  was 
greatly  improved,  and  all  the  outer  aspects  of  the  city 
gave  evidence  of  its  increased  pecuniary  resources. 


204  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

§  209.    The  cholera  of  1832  and  1834. 

But  in  1832,  after  ten  years  of  uninterrupted  pub- 
lic health,  as  well  as  of  unparalleled  commercial  pros- 
perity, the  city  was  visited  by  a  fearful  and  most  de- 
structive epidemic,  that  caused  a  great  fatality,  and 
for  a  while  seriously  interrupted   the  growth  of  the 
city.     Some  fifteen  years  before,  the  Asiatic  cholera, 
after  having  existed  for  ages  as  a  local  disease  in  In- 
dia, became  epidemical   and  migratory.     Since  that 
time  it  had  traversed  AVestern  Asia,  and  Middle  and 
Northern  Europe,  strewing  its  pathway  with  tens  of 
thousands  of  victims ;  and  in  June  of  this  year  it 
reached  this  continent,  first  at  Quebec,  and  soon  after 
in  New -York.     Its  ravages  continued  for  about  three 
months,  during  which  time  thousands  suffered  from 
its  attacks,  in  more  or  less  malignant  forms.     Of  the 
well-defined  cases  of  the  epidemic  about  one-half  proved 
fatal,  and  the  aggregate  mortality  by  cholera  alone 
amounted  to   over  thirty-five  hundred.     Unlike  the 
yellow-fever,  this  disease  was  fixed  to  no  definite  lo- 
calities, nor  were  its  attacks  confined  to  particular 
classes  of  persons  ;  though  the  usual  incentives  t(»  dis- 
ease— intemperance,  filthiness,  and  want  of  wholesome 
and  nutritious  food — were  found  to  invite  it,  and  in- 
crease its  malignity.    Nor  could  it  be  avoided  by  flight. 
Such  was  the  mysterious  character  of  the  disease  that 
it  often  prevailed  most  fatally  in  localities  accounted 
peculiarly  healtliy,  and  it  was  evidently  sometimes 
invited  by  the  very  means  adopted  to  escape  or  pre- 
vent it.     A  groat  part  of  the  inhabitants  forsook  the 
city,  some  of  whom  fell  victims  to  the  disease  in  their 
rural  retreats, — for  the  epidemic  was  frequently  more 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  205 

fatal  in  country  places  than  in  the  large  cities.  Busi- 
ness suffered  greatly,  and  the  progress  of  the  city  was 
for  a  while  sensibly  checked.  The  disease  returned 
again  during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1834; 
hut  it  created  comparatively  little  excitement,  and  the 
whole  mortality  amounted  to  less  than  one  thousand. 
After  this  it  wholly  disappeared,  and  was  not  again 
felt  for  fifteen  years. 

^  210.   Great  fire  of  December,  1835. 

The  effects  produced  by  these  visitations  of  disease 
began  to  be  forgotten,  when  the  commercial  interests 
of  the  city  received  a  severe  shock  from  another  and 
very  different  cause.  On  the  night  of  the  16th  of 
December,  1835,  a  fire  broke  out  near  the  foot  of 
Maiden-lane,  which,  owing  to  the  intense  coldness  of 
the  weather,  and  the  want  of  a  supply  of  water,  com- 
pletely baffled  the  efforts  of  the  firemen,  and  burned  on 
without  control,  till  it  was  arrested  by  a  breach  made 
before  it,  by  blowing  up  the  houses  with  gunpowder. 
More  than  six  hundred  buildings,  including  the  Cus- 
tom-house and  Merchants'  Exchange,  were  destroyed, 
besides  an  immense  amount  of  valuable  merchandise, 
the  whole  value  of  which  has  been  estimated  at  nearly 
twenty  millions  of  dollars. 

§  211.  Financial  crisis  of  1836-7 . 

This  disaster  was  followed  almost  immediately  by 
one  of  the  most  extensive  commercial  revulsions 
known  in  the  history  of  this  country,  by  which,  for  a 
time,  both  public  and  private  credit  was  prostrated, 
and  many  of  the  wealthiest  mercliants  in  the  city  in- 
volved in  hopeless  bankruptcy.     But  the  storm  again 


206  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

passed  off,  and  a  few  years  restored  the  former  activ- 
ity and  energy  of  the  great  mercantile  metropolis, 
while  the  city  continued  to  increase  and  expand  in 
every  direction.  The  general  census  for  1840  showed 
an  aggregate  population  of  312,852 — an  increase  of 
fifty  per  cent,  over  that  of  ten  years  previous. 

§  212.  Completion  of  the  Croton  aqueduct — cholera  in  1849. 

In  1842  the  Croton  aqueduct,  the  greatest  work  of 
the  kind  accomplished  in  modern  times,  was  com- 
pleted— of  which  a  fuller  account  will  be  given  in 
another  place.  In  1845  another  great  fire  occurred, 
accompanied  by  a  tremendous  and  fatal  explosion,  on 
Broad-street  and  Broadway,  and  the  streets  in  that 
vicinity.  The  loss  of  property  by  that  fire  was  esti- 
mated at  five  millions ;  but  the  time  being  one  of 
general  commercial  activity,  it  occasioned  but  little 
interruption  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  city. 
In  1849  the  cholera  again  visited  the  city,  and  pre- 
vailed during  the  summer.  It  caused  comparatively 
little  excitement,  though  it  proved  scarcely  less  ma- 
lignant than  at  its  first  visitation.  The  mortality,  as 
compared  with  the  cases  of  attack,  was  about  the  same 
as  in  1832,  and  the  whole  number  of  deaths  exceeded 
five  thousand,  while  the  mortality  from  ordinary  dis- 
eases was  also  greatly  augmented. 

§  213.   Population  and  extent  of  the  city  in  1850. 

The  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  closed  upon 
the  city  of  New -York,  leaving  it  in  the  full  tide  of 
commercial  and  social  prosperity.  Its  population,  by 
an  unparalleled  increase,  had  attained  to  more  than 
half  a  million,  and  its  vast  suburbs  contained  nearlv 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  207 

half  as  many  more.  Of  the  new  part  of  the  inhabit- 
ants a  large  portion  were  of  foreign  birth,  chiefly  na- 
tives of  Ireland  and  Germany.  The  influence  of  these 
strangers  has  doubtless  been  unfavorable  to  the  morals 
and  manners  of  society ;  though  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  assimilating  tendencies  of  our  institu- 
tions will  rapidly  remedy  these  imported  evils.  For 
these  social  evils  some  compensation  is  offered  in  the 
contribution  to  the  material  wealth  of  the  city  in  the 
form  of  labor — as  these  foreigners  now  perform  most 
of  the  heavy  service  required  by  the  public  and  private 
improvements  of  the  city. 


208  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 


CHAPTER   X. 

NEW-YORK  AS  IT  IS. 
§  214.    The  transformation. 

Great  changes  have  occurred  in  the  locality  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  city  of  New -York  since  the  ship  of  the 
discoverer  first  entered  its  quiet  waters,  or  even  since 
the  burgomasters  and  schepens  of  New-Amsterdam 
resigned  the  infant  metropolis  to  its  English  captors. 
A  period  of  less  than  two  centuries  has  sufficed  to  con- 
vert a  cluster  of  trading-houses  and  rude  huts  into  a 
well-grown  city,  ranking  among  the  few  largest  in 
the  world — there  being  but  two  greater  in  Europe, 
and  none  to  rival  it  in  America.  Where  the  Indian 
paddled  his  light  canoe,  and  feebly  contended  with 
the  elements,  now  the  miglity  packet-ship  or  ocean- 
steamer  floats  in  safety,  and  laughs  at  the  impotent 
fury  of  the  storm.  The  tangled  thickets  that  fringed 
these  shores  have  given  place  to  the  denser  floating 
forests  of  spars  and  cordage  ;  the  silence  of  desolation 
that  was  broken  only  by  the  savage  war-whoop,  is  re- 
placed by  the  din  of  commerce  and  the  busy  hum  of 
the  peaceful  multitude ;  the  lonely  foot-path  is  gone, 
but  its  place  is  occupied  by  broad  streets  and  long 
avenues,  thronged  with  the  moving  population,  and 
gay  with  social  life.  The  cruel  rites  of  superstition 
are  here  no  more  celebrated,  but  in  their  place  rise 
the  temples  of  the  living  God,  in  which  are  taught 
the  pure  words  of  truth,  and  the  mysteries  of  an  en- 
nobling faith  are  solemnized. 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  209 

§  215.  Extent  of  the  city. 

Of  the  whole  area  of  Manhattan  Island  about  one- 
fifth  part,  at  the  southern  extremity,  is  occupied  by 
the  compactly-built  portion  of  the  city.  Another  fifth 
part  is  covered  by  the  partially-regulated  outskirts. 
Of  the  remaining  portion,  some  parts  are  still  covered 
with  the  primeval  forests,  or  are  under  tillage  ;  others 
are  sites  of  suburban  villages,  or  of  gentlemen's  coun- 
try-seats, and  of  a  variety  of  benevolent  institutions. 
As  far  up  as  Fourteenth-street,  or  nearly  three  miles 
from  the  Battery,  the  whole  area  is  densely  occu- 
pied by  buildings.  From  that  line  to  Forty-second 
street — till  recently  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
rural  ward  of  the  city — the  ground  is  only  partially 
built  upon,  the  population  being  less  and  less  dense 
according  to  the  distance  up-town.  In  nearly  all  this 
portion,  however,  the  streets  are  opened,  and  most  of 
them  regulated  and  paved.  Above  the  last-named 
line  the  characteristics  of  the  city  gradually  diminish ; 
only  a  part  of  the  streets  are  opened,  and  many  of 
these  are  but  partially  regulated. 

§  216.   Streets  and  avenues. 

The  streets  of  Xew-York  are  generally  very  well 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  public  thoroughfares.  Ex- 
cept in  the  extreme  southern  section  of  the  city,  where 
are  still  found  a  few  narrow  and  crooked  passages, 
they  are  generally  sufficiently  roomy  and  regular. 
Without  the  rigid  exactness  of  plan  that  distinguishes 
some  other  cities,  whose  future  greatness  was  provided 
for  from  their  beginning,  New -York  unites,  in  very 
pleasing   proportions,  variety  with   regularity.     The 


210  CITY  OF  ^'EW-YORK 

streets  vary  in  width  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet, 
and  in  length  from  a  single  block  to  nearly  the  whole 
extent  of  the  city.  All  of  these  thoroughfares  con- 
sist of  a  paved  carriage-way,  skirted  on  both  sides  by 
flagged  walks  for  foot-passengers.  The  carriage- 
ways are  almost  universally  paved  with  water- worn 
stones  of  from  five  to  twenty-five  pounds'  weight, 
which  abound  in  the  diluvial  deposits  of  the  island. 
These  make  a  firm  and  durable  foundation,  but  their 
inequalities  make  the  streets  paved  with  them  terribly 
rough,  and  occasion  a  fearful  amount  of  noise  and 
clamor.  A  variety  of  expedients  has  been  talked 
of  for  remedying  these  evils,  but  none  has  yet  proved 
practically  available.  A  few  years  since  a  trial  was 
made  of  wooden  blocks,  instead  of  paving-stones,  but 
the  experiment  was  not  satisfactory.  The  Euss-pave- 
ment,  composed  of  blocks  of  granite  about  ten  inches 
square,  resting  upon  a  bed  of  broken  stones,  made 
solid  with  cement,  has  been  adopted  in  Broadway,  and, 
to  a  small  extent,  in  a  few  other  places  ;  but  though 
its  excellence  is  all  that  could  be  asked,*  its  expensive- 
ness  forbids  its  general  use. 

§  217.   Great  thoroughfares. 

A  hasty  glance  over  a  plan  of  the  city  will  suffice 
to  detect  certain  great  features,  from  which  the  infe- 
rior parts  may  be  the  better  considered.  Of  these 
Broadway  is  the  most  notable,  since  it  serves  as  the 
vertebral  column  to  the  whole  city.  This  great  ave- 
nue, eighty  feet  wide,  extends  from  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  island  north-easterly  (N.  36°  E.)  to 
Union-square,  on  Fourteenth-street,  in  a  direct  line, 
except  a  slight  curve  near  its  northern  termination  ; 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  211 

and  is  at  once  the  great  retail  mart  and  the  principal 
thoroughfare  of  the  city.  At  the  lower  point  of  the 
Park,  another  principal  avenue  (Chatham-street)  leads 
off  to  the  right  toward  the  north-eastern  part  of  the 
city,  and  terminates  nearly  half  a  mile  beyond  in 
a-  broad  triangular  area,  known  as  Chatham-square. 
Prom  the  northern  angle  of  this  square  the  Bowery — a 
portion  of  the  old  "  Boston-road  '^ — leads,  by  a  nearly 
due  north  course,  to  the  Third  and  Pourth  avenues, 
discharging  most  of  its  vast  flood  of  travel  into  the 
former,  and  ending  in  the  latter  at  Sixth-street. 
Prom  the  south-eastern  angle  of  Chatham-square, 
East-Broadway  (formerly  Harmon-street)  runs  a  little 
to  the  north  of  east  to  the  neighborhood  of  Corlear's 
Hook.  Parallel  with  this  street,  on  the  northerly 
side,  and  starting  from  the  same  point  with  the  Bow- 
ery, is  Division-street,  the  line  of  demarkation  between 
two  of  the  great  sections  of  the  city,  and  also  one  of 
the  great  retail  marts.  West  of  Broadway  are  several 
leading  streets,  running  parallel  with  the  river,  of 
which  Hudson,  Greenwich,  and  Washington-streets  are 
the  most  considerable. 

§  218.  Historical  divisions — down-town. 

In  considering  the  plan  of  the  present  city  of  New- 
York,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  city  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  natural  divisions,  each  having  its  own  historical 
original.  Of  these  the  oldest  occupies  the  site  of  the 
Dutch  town  of  New-Amsterdam,  lying  wholly  below 
Wall-street, — a  portion  still  distinguished  by  its  short, 
narrow,  and  irregular  streets,  notwithstanding"  all  that 
has  been  done  to  remedy  these  original  blemishes. 
But  even  here  there  is  a  plan  easily  discernible.  Broad- 


212  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

way,  Broad-street,  and  William-street,  (the  Vly,)  are  the 
lead i no-  avenues  :  while  Pearl-street  takes  its  irreo^ular 
direction  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  natural  ground- 
plot  of  the  city.  The  second  portion  is  that  which  was 
added  during  the  continuance  of  the  British  sway  over 
the  province,  extending  from  Wall-street  to  the  Park 
and  Beekman's  Swamp.  The  plan  of  this  portion  is  the 
same  as  the  former,  being  pierced  hy  the  same  leading 
streets,  and  traversed  by  cross  streets  generally  paral- 
lel with  Wall-street.  This  portion  of  the  city  was  ex- 
tended soon  after  the  Eevolution  quite  up  to  the  Fresh 
Water,  and  the  belt  of  low  ground  that  extended  on  both 
sides  of  that  body  of  water  to  either  river.  As  the  shores 
of  the  two  rivers  diverge  by  a  pretty  broad  angle,  the 
area  of  the  city  necessarily  became  triangular,  render- 
ing a  regular  arrangement  of  the  streets  somewhat 
difficult.  Alono-  both  rivers  the  streets  were  laid 
down  as  nearly  as  possible  parallel  with  the  shores, 
across  which  were  drawn  other  streets,  cutting  them 
at  rio-ht  angles.  On  the  south-eastern  side  this  plan 
was  quite  conveniently  adjusted  up  as  far  as  Chatham- 
street,  as  that  avenue  is  nearly  parallel  with  the  shore 
off  against  it.  On  the  west  side,  Broadway  and  the 
river  diverge  very  considerably,  and  while  the  streets 
next  to  the  river  run  parallel  with  it,  those  toward 
Broadway  take  its  direction,  making  additional  streets 
necessary  as  the  city  advanced  outward.  The  trans- 
verse direction  of  Canal-street  also  adds  to  the  irreg- 
ularity of  this  portion  of  the  town.  Between  Broad- 
way and  Chatham-street  the  Collect  for  a  long  time 
withstood  tlie  progress  of  the  city,  and  at  last  it  gave 
way  by  such  slow  degrees  that  this  part  of  the  town 
is  only  partially  conformed  to  the  general  plan. 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  213 

§  219.    The  middle  and  eastern  sections. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Collect  the  city  soon  spread 
itself  over  another  and  greater  portion  of  Manhattan 
Island,  extending  from  the  Hudson  Eiver  to  the  Bow- 
ery, and  upward  to  the  neighborhood  of  Hudson,  Wash- 
ington, and  UnTon-squares.  Beyond  this  line,  toward 
the  Hudson,  lies  what  was  originally  Greenwich  vil- 
lage, now  making  an  integral  portion  of  the  city,  hut 
still  retaining  its  own  anomalous  ground-plan — an  ac- 
count of  which  is  given  in  another  place.  About  the 
same  period,  the  region  to  the  east  of  the  Bowery,  up 
as  far  as  Xorth,  or  Houston-street,  was  incorporated 
into  the  city  proper.  To  the  west  of  Broadway  the 
former  plan  of  the  city  was  continued  without  any 
material  change.  Between  Broadway  and  the  Bowery 
the  leading  streets  were  arranged  in  conformity  with 
those  great  thoroughfares,  while  the  cross-streets  were 
drawn,  as  nearly  as  might  be,  perpendicular  to  them. 
Alono;  the  shore  of  the  East  Eiver,  from  Catharine- 
street  to  Corlaer's  Hook,  a  series  of  streets  were 
drawn  parallel  with  the  shore,  as  far  back  as  Division- 
street,  which  were  intersected  with  others  nearly  at 
right  angles,  reaching  up  as  far  as  Harmon  (East- 
Broadway)  or  Division-stregt.  Between  the  Bowery 
and  the  East  Eiver,  to  the  north  of  Corlaer's  Hook, 
and  between  Division-street  on  the  south  and  North 
(Houston)  street  on  the  north,  was  laid  out  in  regular 
squares  a  large  quarter  of  the  city^s  area.  Between 
the  Bowery  and  East  Eiver  are  twenty-two  streets,  and 
between  Division  and  Houston-streets  are  eight,  cut- 
ting the  former  at  right  angles,  and  making  between 
a  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  blocks  of  build- 


214  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

ings,  nearly  all  of  which  are   ocxMipiecl   by  dwelling 

houses. 

^  220.    Up-iown. 

The  last  of  the  historical  sections  of  the  city  is  that 
large  portion  of  the  island  which,  forty  years  since, 
was  ordered  to  be  laid  out  into  regular  streets  and 
avenues,  and  which  includes  all  thaT  had  not  then 
been  so  laid  out.  The  plan  of  this  part  of  the  city  is 
arranged  with  mathematical  exactness,  and  without 
regard  to  the  accidental  or  local  peculiarities  of  the 
form  or  surface  of  the  ground-plot.  Lengthwise  of 
the  island,  and  in  a  line  with  the  general  direction  of 
the  two  parallel  shores,  eleven  great  avenues  were 
projected,  from  seven  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet 
apart,  extending  from  the  regulated  portion  of  the 
city  to  Harlem  Eiver.  These  avenues  are  numbered 
from  east  to  west,  and  outside  of  the  eleventh  is  a 
partial  twelfth  one,  to  cover  some  projections  along 
the  Hudson.  A  considerable  part  of  the  First-avenue 
is  also  submerged  in  the  East  Eiver.  To  the  east  of 
First-avenue,  below  Bellevue,  is  a  large  triangular 
piece  of  ground,  through  which  four  avenues,  parallel 
with  the  others,  were  laid  down,  and  designated  by 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  from  A  to  D.  The  broad 
space  between  the  Third  and  Fourth-avenues  seemed 
to  demand  another  leading  street,  which  has  accord- 
ingly been  laid  out  and  opened  ;  this  is  called  Lexing- 
ton-avenue. For  a  like  reason  Madison-avenue  has 
been  opened  between  Fourth  and  Fifth-avenues. 

Across  these  avenues  were  next  laid  out  a  series  of 
parallel  streets,  numbering  nearly  two  hundred,  and 
extending  from  North-street,  which  was  from  that 
time  called  Houston-street,  to  the  upper  part  of  the 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  215 

island.  These  streets  vary  in  width  from  sixty  to 
one  hundred  feet,  and  are  separated  by  blocks  two 
hundred  feet  deep ;  so  that  twenty  streets  and  blocks 
on  the  avenues  are  equal  to  a  mile.  The  first  three 
of  these  streets  are  wholly  east  of  the  Bowery.  Fourth- 
street  crosses  both  the  Bowery  and  Broadway,  and  ex- 
tends westward  till  stopped  by  the  irregularities  of 
Greenwich  village.  From  the  Fourth  to  the  Eighth 
the  streets  are  more  or  less  interrupted,  and  none  of 
the  first  twelve  extend  quite  to  the  Hudson.  Four- 
teenth-street is  the  first  that  extends,  without  inter- 
ruption, from  river  to  river.  This  is  one  of  the  noblest 
streets  in  the  whole  city,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  per- 
fectly straight,  and  so  regularly  swelling  upward  to 
the  middle  of  the  island  that  both  rivers  are  plainly 
seen  from  its  principal  elevation. 

§  221.   Civil  divisions. 

In  1825  a  new  distribution  of  the  city  into  wards 
was  made,  which  remains,  for  the  most  part,  to  the 
present  time.  All  below  Fourteenth-street,  which  was 
esteemed  the  utmost  limit  of  the  city  proper,  was  di- 
vided into  eleven  wards.  Of  these,  the  First  Ward 
occupies  the  extreme  southern  point  of  the  city.  The 
Third,  Fifth,  Eighth,  and  Ninth,  lie  along  the  Hud- 
son— the  last  comprising  Greenwich  village.  The 
Second,  Fourth,  and  Seventh,  lie  between  the  East 
Eiver  and  Chatham  and  Division-streets.  The  Tenth 
and  Eleventh  lie  to  the  east  of  the  Bowery,  and  the 
Sixth  between  the  Bowery  and  Broadway.  The 
Twelfth  Ward  included  all  above  Fourteenth-street, 
and,  being  a  rural  district,  it  was  not  subjected  to  such 
laws  and  regulations  as  pertained  especially  to  muni- 


216  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

cipal  affairs.  But  the  increase  of  the  upper  portions 
of  the  city  presently  demanded  the  formation  of  new- 
wards  by  the  division  of  some  of  the  old  ones.  Tenth 
Ward  was  first  divided,  making  the  Thirteenth  ;  next 
the  Sixth,  the  Fourteenth  being  formed  out  of  its  up- 
per half  Fifteenth  Ward  w^as  taken  from  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  Ninth.  It  was  at  length  found  neces- 
sary to  extend  the  city  laws  over  a  large  portion  of 
the  Twelfth  Ward,  and  accordingly  a  new  ward — the 
Sixteenth — was  erected,  embracing  all  the  region  ex- 
tending from  Fourteenth  to  Fortieth-street.  The 
Seventeenth  Ward  was  formed  by  the  division  of  the 
Eleventh ;  the  Eighteenth  was  made  by  cutting  off 
from  the  Sixteenth  all  east  of  Sixth-avenue.  The 
Nineteenth  Ward  comprises  so  much  of  the  old  Twelfth 
as  lies  between  Fortieth  and  Eighty-sixth-street ;  and, 
last  of  all,  the  Twentieth  was  formed  by  the  division 
of  the  Sixteenth  Ward.  Each  of  these  Avards  are 
allowed  an  alderman  and  an  assistant-alderman,  to 
represent  their  inhabitants  in  the  Common  Council  of 
the  city,  and  each  constitutes  a  police  district. 

^  222.   Public  grounds — the  Battery. 

Next  to  the  streets  and  avenues  of  the  city,  its  pub- 
lic grounds  are  objects  of  attention.  With  these  New- 
York  is  less  liberally  supplied  than  could  be  desired, 
owing  to  a  short-sighted  economy  at  an  earlier  stage 
of  its  history.  Yet  our  city  is  far  from  being  alto- 
gether destitute  of  these  embellishments,  as  the  fol- 
lowing enumeration  will  sufficiently  prove  : — 

Beginning  at  the  southern  extremity,  we  have  first 
the  Battery,  a  segment  of  a  circular  belt,  containing 
over  ten  acres,  looking  directly  out  upon  the  bay  and 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  217 

harbor,  and  beautifully  laid  out  and  shaded.  For- 
merly tliis  was  one  of  the  most  fashionable  prome- 
nades in  the  city;  and  it  was  in  reference  to  its  con- 
dition in  this  season  of  its  glory  that  the  sentimental 
chronicler  of  New-Amsterdam  thus  apostrophizes  it: — 
*'  The  favorite  walk  of  declining  age ;  the  healthful 
resort  of  the  feeble  invalid ;  the  holiday  refreshment 
of  the  dusty  tradesman ;  the  scene  of  many  a  boyish 
gambol ;  the  rendezvous  of  many  a  tender  assigna- 
tion ;  the  comfort  of  the  citizen ;  the  ornament  of 
New -York,  and  the  pride  of  the  lovely  island  of  Man- 
ahatta."  But  the  removal  of  the  great  body  of  the 
wealthy  families  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  and  the 
occupation  of  the  lower  wards  by  warehouses  and  im- 
migrant boarding-houses,  have  quite  changed  the  char- 
acter of  the  frequenters  of  this  truly  lovely  promenade. 

^  223.    The  Bowling-grsen,  etc. 

Just  above  the  Battery,  at  the  foot  of  Broadway,  is 
the  BowUng-g7'een, — an  ellipse  of  a  little  more  than  a 
quarter  of  an  acre,  inclosed  by  an  iron  fence,  and 
ornamented  with  a  fountain.  Its  historical  associa- 
tions have  already  been  sufficiently  noticed. 

Ehjiover-square,  at  the  junction  of  Pearl  and  Will- 
iam-streets; Franklin-square,  formed  by  a  curve  in 
Pearl-street  and  the  beginning  of  Cherry-street ;  and 
Chatham-square,  at  the  junction  of  Chatham-street, 
Bowery,  and  East-Broadway,  are  only  broad  triangles 
in  the  public  streets,  uninclosed,  and  paved  in  the 
usual  manner.  Several  other  similar  squares,  or, 
more  properly,  triangles,  are  found  in  different  por- 
tions of  the  city. 

10 


218  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK 

§  224.    The  Park — Hudson-square. 

The  City  Park,  bounded  by  Broadway,  Chatham, 
Center,  and  Chambers-streets,  contains  more  than 
eleven  acres  of  ground,  and  is  well  fenced  and  orna- 
mented. In  its  center  is  the  City  Hall ;  on  the  east 
side,  the  Hall  of  Records ;  toward  the  north-east  cor- 
ner, the  Rotunda,  originally  designed  for  a  picture- 
gallery,  but  now  occupied  by  public  offices  ;  and  on  the 
north  side,  directly  behind  the  City  Hall,  is  a  range 
of  buildings,  formerly  the  city  alms-house,  but  now 
principally  used  by  several  of  the  numerous  courts 
that  hold  their  sessions  in  this  city.  Toward  the 
southern  extremitv  of  the  Park  is  the  fountain,  which 

ft/ 

throws  a  large  jet  of  water  seventy  feet  high,  and  has 
a  circular  basin,  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  inclosed 
by  a  beautiful  marble  border,  between  which  and  the 
railing  at  the  outside  is  a  space  of  twelve  feet  wide, 
embellished  with  shrubs  and  flowers. 

Hudson-square,  or  aS'^.  John^s  Park,  is  a  finely-orna- 
mented inclosure  of  about  four  acres,  lying  between 
Hudson  and  Varick-streets,  immediately  in  front  of 
St.  John's  church,  and  is  held  for  the  use  of  owners 
of  property  in  the  vicinity,  and  only  those  to  whom 
the  privilege  is  specially  conceded,  are  permitted  to 
enjoy  its  walks. 

^  225.  Washington  and  Union-squares,  and  Gramercy  Park. 

Washington-square,  bounded  by  Wooster,  Fourth, 
and  M'Dougal-streets  and  Waverley-place — a  parallel- 
ogram of  nearly  ten  acres —  was  formed  from  tlie  old 
Potters-field,  with  the  addition  of  a  portion  of  ground 
procured  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  square. 


AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME.  -  219 

It  was  at  first  intended  to  be  used  as  a  parade,  but  is 
now  devoted  exclusively  to  the  purposes  of  a  public 
promenade.  It  is  among  the  most  frequented  and 
agreeable  walks  in  the  city. 

Union-square,  on  Fourth-avenue,  between  Fourteenth 
and  Seventeenth-streets,  is  an  elliptical  figure,  whose 
greater  diameter  is  more  than  twice  the  less,  and  its 
whole  area  about  one  acre.  It  is  very  finely  orna- 
mented, with  an  elegant  fountain,  and  beautiful  walks 
and  shrubbery,  and  the  whole  inclosed  by  a  substan- 
tial iron  railing.  Being  located  among  the  wealthiest 
portion  of  the  population  of  the  city — the  celebrated 
*'  upper  ten  thousand " — it  is  a  fashionable  resort, 
though  perfectly  free  to  all  classes  of  society. 

Gramercy  Park  contains  a  little  more  than,  one 
acre  of  ground,  situated  between  Third  and  Fourth- 
avenues,  and  Twentieth  and  Twenty-first-streets.  It 
is  a  beautifully-ornamented  promenade,  and,  though 
private  property,  it  is  readily  accessible  to  all  orderly 
and  well-disposed  persons. 

§  226.  Tompkins,  Stuyvesant,  and  Madison-squares,  etc. 

TomjyJcins-sqiiare  is  in  the  north-eastern  section  of 
the  city,  between  Avenues  A  and  B,  and  reaching 
from  Seventh  to  Tenth-street.  It  contains  over  ten 
acres  ;  and  as  the  city  in  that  quarter  advances  it  is 
becoming  more  and  more  a  valuable  public  walk. 

Stuyvesant-square  consists  of  two  parallelograms, 
lying  on  either  side  of  Second-avenue,  and  reaching 
from  Fifteenth  to  Seventeenth-street.  These  grounds 
have  been  but  recently  inclosed  and  ornamented,  and 
there  is  no  cause  to  doubt  that  they  will  soon  be  among 
the  finest  in  the  city. 


220  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK. 

On  Fiftli-avenuo,  extending  to  Madison-avenue,  and 
between  Twenty-third  and  Twenty-sixtli -streets,  an 
extensive  area  has  been  laid  out,  to  be  called  Madi- 
son-square.  And  between  Fifth  and  Sixth-avenues, 
on  Fortieth-street,  is  Reservoir-square,  occupied  in  part 
by  the  Distributing  Reservoir,  and  in  part  just  now 
about  to  be  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  great  Crystal 
Palace,  for  the  exhibition  of  the  productions  of  the 
industry  of  all  nations  in  the  summer  of  1853. 

§  227.  Squares  projected. 

Beyond  the  city  proper  several  large  public  squares 
have  been  projected,  some  of  which  have  received  the 
necessary  legalization,  and  probably  most  of  them 
will,,  in  future  years,  be  occupied  for  the  purposes  to 
which  they  have  been  thus  devoted. 

Bloomingdale-square,  on  Eighth-avenue  and  Fifty- 
third-street,  is  designed  to  occupy  eighteen  acres ; 
Hamilton-square,  on  Fourth-avenue  and  Sixty-sixth- 
street,  twenty-four  acres.  This  square  occupies  a 
most  elevated  position  ;  and  if  completed  according  to 
its  design,  it  will  be  among  the  finest  suburban  walks 
in  the  vicinity  of  New -York. 

Manhattan-squa7'e,  on  Ninth-avenue  and  Seventy- 
seventh-street,  covers  four  entire  blocks  ;  Ohservatory- 
plaee,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth-avenues,  contains 
twenty-five  acres ;  and  Mount  Morris,  on  both  sides 
of  Fifth-avenue,  between  One-hundred-and-twentieth 
and  One-hundred-and-twenty-fourth-streets,  about 
twenty  acres.  This  last  is  situated  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  ancient  village  of  Harlem. 


WATER- WORKS — LIGHT.  221 


CHAPTER  XL 

WATER-WORKS  — LIGHT. 
^  228.   Ante-revolutionary  projects. 

A  COPIOUS  supply  of  pure  fresh  water  is  among  the 
most  important  requisites  of  a  great  city.  It  has 
ever  been  found  that  the  ordinary  natural  resources 
for  the  supply  of  this  necessity  are  inadequate  to  such 
demands,  and  hence  that  it  is  necessary  to  convey 
water  in  large  quantities  from  a  distance.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  peojjle  of  New -York  was  directed  to  this 
subject  at  quite  an  early  period  of  the  city's  history, 
and  schemes  were  projected  to  meet  the  public  de- 
mands ;  but  nothing  definite  was  undertaken  till  just 
before  the  period  of  the  Revolution. 

About  the  year  1774  a  project  was  set  on  foot  to 
construct  a  public  reservoir  on  the  east  side  of  Broad- 
way, near  its  present  junction  with  Franklin-street, 
which  was  to  be  supplied  with  water  drawn  from  the 
Collect,  and  forced  up  by  a  steam-engine.  The  neces- 
sary legal  authority  was  given  to  the  corporation  by 
the  provincial  legislature,  with  the  privilege  of  issu- 
ing paper  money  for  that  purpose  to  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  pounds.  A  portion  of  this 
money  was  actually  put  in  circulation,  but  the  coming 
on  of  the  revolutionary  war  put  an  end  to  the  whole 
enterprise. 

^  229.  Post-revolutionary  projects. 

After  the  return  of  peace  this  subject  was  revived, 
but  the  financial  condition  of  the  city  was  not  such  as 


222  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

would  -warrant  great  public  outlays.  The  projects  dis- 
cussed generally  looked  no  farther  than  to  the  springs, 
and  wells,  and  water-courses,  on  Manhattan  Island  for 
a  supply.  The  "  Tea-water  pump,"  which  was  a  large 
natural  fountain,  situated  near  the  present  junction 
of  Chatham  and  Pearl-streets,  was  in  great  repute, 
and  for  a  long  time  a  large  portion  of  the  citizens 
were  supplied  from  it  by  means  of  casks  carried  upon 
carts.  But  in  1798  a  report  was  presented  to  the 
Common  Council,  by  a  committee  appointed  to  inves- 
tigate the  subject,  recommending  the  introduction  of 
the  waters  of  the  Bronx  Eiver  into  the  city.  The 
Bronx  is  a  stream  of  moderate  volume,  rising  in  the 
central  part  of  Westchester  County,  and,  flowing  south- 
ward, through  White  Plains  and  West  Farms,  it  falls 
into  the  East  Eiver,  a  few  miles  above  Harlem  Eiver. 
In  consequence  of  the  recommendation  of  the  commit- 
tee, an  examination  of  that  river  was  made  by  suita- 
ble engineers,  and  the  project  declared  to  be  feasible. 
The  proposed  work  now  seemed  likely  to  be  carried 
out,  but  presently  the  matter  took  another  turn. 

§  230.    The  Manhattan  Company. 

At  this  time  party  strifes  ran  high  throughout  the 
nation,  and  entered  into  nearly  all  the  affairs  of  the 
community.  In  New -York,  all  the  banks  were  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  the  ruling  (federal)  party,  and 
were  used  to  promote  its  designs.  The  notorious 
Aaron  Burr  was  then  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
New -York,  and,  with  his  characteristic  shrewdness,  he 
laid  hold  of  the  popularity  of  tlie  water-project  to  for- 
ward his  partisan  purposes.  He  procured  an  act  of 
incorporation   for   a   company,   (the   Manliattan,)  in 


WATER-WORKS — LIGHT.  223 

which  should  be  invested  the  right  of  supplying  the 
city  with  water,  and  having  also  the  privilege  of  using 
its  surplus  capital  in  banking.  This  last  privilege, 
which  seemed  to  be  only  incidental  and  quite  subordi- 
nate to  the  chief  design  of  the  company,  was  really  its 
principal  purpose.  Something,  however,  was  done  in 
the  way  of  supplying  the  city  with  water.  A  well 
was  sunk  back  of  the  City  Hall,  near  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  Collect,  from  which  the  water  was  forced 
up  by  a  steam-engine  into  a  reservoir  in  Chambers- 
street,  elevated  fifteen  feet  above  Broadway,  and  thence 
distributed  by  wooden  pipes  over  most  of  the  city.  But 
banking  was  the  business  that  chiefly  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  the  Manhattan  Company,  and  consequently 
less  attention  was  devoted  to  its  first  ostensible  busi- 
ness than  the  wants  of  the  city  demanded.  The  sup- 
ply of  water  was  also  found  to  be  inadequate  to  the 
requirements  of  the  city,  and  its  quality  deteriorated 
as  the  surrounding  space  became  occupied  with  streets 
and  dwellings. 

§  231.   The  up-town  reservoir. 

Among  the  plans  that  occupied  public  attention  at 
one  time,  was  one  to  bring  the  waters  of  the  Housa- 
tonic  into  this  city  by  means  of  a  canal,  extending 
hence  to  Sharon  in  Connecticut.  Artesian  wells  were 
also  talked  of,  and  the  plan  of  introducing  the  Bronx 
River  revived  and  urged  anew. 

In  1829,  in  consequence  of  the  ravages  of  fire  dur- 
ing the  preceding  year,  a  plan  was  adopted  to  estab- 
lish a  great  general  reservoir  far  up-town,  to  be  sup- 
plied from  a  well,  and  to  distribute  its  contents  through 
every  portion  of  the  city  by  means  of  iron  pipes,  to  be 

10* 


224  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

laid  through  the  principal  streets.  This  plan  was 
carried  out,  so  far  as  the  construction  of  tlie  reservoir 
and  a  partial  laying  down  of  the  pipes  was  concerned; 
but  the  supply  of  water  from  the  well  proved  totally- 
insufficient. 

^  232.   The  Croton  project. 

While  this  plan  was  thus  in  a  course  of  unsuccess- 
ful experiment,  another  was  undertaken,  which  was 
destined  not  only  to  fill  the  empty  reservoir  and  pipes, 
but  to  make  the  city  of  New -York  as  famous  for  the 
superiority  of  its  water-works  as  it  had  been  for  their 
inferiority.  Public  attention  was,  in  1830,  directed 
to  the  Croton  Kiver  as  a  source  of  supply  of  the  much- 
needed  element.  A  definite  survey  of  the  route  was 
made  two  years  later,  and  though  most  of  the  engi- 
neers reported  unfavorably,  it  was  strongly  commended 
by  De  Witt  Clinton,  jr.,  as  the  only  source  on  which 
the  city  should  rely.  The  next  year.  Major  Douglass 
was  appointed  to  examine  the  several  plans  of  supply- 
ing the  city,  and  especially  the  routes  to  the  Bronx 
and  Croton  Rivers.  The  facts  elicited  by  this  survey 
seem  to  have  caused  the  public  mind  to  preponderate 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  last-named  river.  From  that 
time  the  measure  was  prosecuted  steadily  to  its  con- 
summation, when,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1842,  the  pres- 
ident of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  under  wliose 
auspices  the  work  had  been  accomplished,  opened  the 
urates  of  the  new  reservoir,  and  the  water  of  tlie  Cro- 
ton,  that  had  been  diverted  from  its  natural  channel 
forty  miles  from  the  city,  rushed  into  the  pipes  that 
thirteen  years  before  had  been  laid  down,  but  had 
found  no  water  to  fill  them. 


WATER- WORKS — LIGHT.  225 

§  233.    Sources  of  the  Croton  River. 

The  Croton  River,  which  was  thus  suddenly  intro- 
duced to  city  life,  is  a  pure  fresh-water  stream,  rising 
in  a  somewhat  elevated  region  comprising  the  eastern 
portion  of  Putnam  County.  Xear  the  dividing-line 
between  Westchester  and  Putnam  Counties,  three  large 
brooks,  known  as  the  East,  the  Middle,  and  the  West 
branches,  unite  to  form  the  Croton  Eiver.  By  tracing 
these  streams  upward,  they  are  found  to  spread  out 
into  a  vast  number  of  smaller  tributaries,  collecting 
the  waters  of  innumerable  springs,  and  receiving  the 
overflowings  of  a  large  number  of  sylvan  lakes,  that 
cover  an  extent  of  more  than  thirteen  hundred  acres. 
A  few  miles  lower,  the  Croton  is  increased  by  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Muscoot  River  from  the  north,  and  Cross 
River  from  the  south.  The  former  stream  rises  in 
Lake  Mahopac,  in  the  southern  part  of  Putnam  County, 
and  also  receives  the  overflowings  of  three  other  con- 
siderable ponds ;  the  aggregate  area  of  all  which 
amounts  to  about  fifteen  hundred  acres.  Cross  River 
drains  a  considerable  region  of  country  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bedford,  and  also  receives  the  waters  of 
Long  Pond,  a  sheet  of  pure  water  measuring  about 
^ight  hundred  acres. 

§  234.   Supply  and  character  of  its  waters. 

The  supply  of  the  Croton  River  is  thus  seen  to  be 
from  natural  lakes  or  ponds,  covering  more  than  three 
thousand  six  hundred  acres,  all  of  which  may  be  easily 
converted  into  reservoirs  for  additional  supplies  when- 
ever needed.  The  supplies  of  these  ponds  are  drawn 
almost  entirely  from  springs  scattered  over  the  ele- 


226  CITY   OF  NEW-YORK. 

vated  region  in  which  they  are  situated,  or  from  nat- 
ural fountains  in  their  own  beds.  That  re^-ion  beinir 
an  elevated  granitic  formation,  and  chiefly  occupied 
as  a  grazing  country — being  too  rough  to  admit  of 
extensive  tillage — the  purity  of  its  streams  seems  to 
be  forever  secured.  The  water  is  perfectly  clear,  and 
almost  totally  free  from  saline  or  other  foreign  ad- 
mixtures. 

§  235.   The  river  and  lake. 

The  course  of  the  Croton  Eiver,  which  in  the  higher 
parts  is  south  or  south-westerly,  after  the  confluence 
of  the  Muscoot,  turns  nearly  westward,  and  falls  into 
the  Hudson  a  few  miles  above  the  village  of  Sing-Sing. 
Five  miles  below  the  junction  of  the  Muscoot  with  the 
Croton  is  the  upper  end  of  Croton  Lake — the  first  of 
the  artificial  reservoirs  of  these  famous  water-works. 
The  lake  is  formed  by  a  dam  thrown  across  the  river, 
by  which  the  water  is  thrown  back  for  four  miles,  and 
about  four  hundred  acres  of  land  inundated.  Its 
shape  is  very  irregular,  owing  to  the  inequalities  of 
the  ground  along  the  river  banks ;  its  depth  varies 
from  fifty  feet  downward  ;  its  capacity,  above  tlie  bot- 
tom of  the  aqueduct,  is  estimated  at  five  hundred  mill- 
ions of  gallons,  and  its  daily  discharge  is  equal  to 
thirty-five  millions  of  gallons.  About  two  miles  above# 
the  dam,  the  lake  is  crossed  by  Pine's  Bridge,  a  place 
and  crossing  somewhat  celebrated  in  our  revolutionary 
history. 

§  236.   The  dam. 

The  dam  itself  is  a  grand  and  imposing  structure. 
It  is  laid  upon  the  rocky  bed  of  the  river,  from  which 
it  rises  forty  feet  upward,  and  extends  two  hundred 


::5 


^  :: 


WATER-WORKS — LiaHT.  229 

and  eighty  feet  from  bank  to  bank.  The  face  of  the 
dam  is  built  of  hewn  granite,  over  which  the  water 
tumbles  with  a  fall  of  forty  feet.  About  one-third  of 
the  way  across  from  the  eastern  end  of  the  dam  is  the 
gatehouse,  built  on  a  pier  in  the  midst  of  the  stream, 
where  is  also  the  sluiceway  for  relieving  the  dam,  or 
reducing  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  lake.  The  gate- 
house is  reached  by  a  bridge  from  the  eastern  shore, 
constructed  immediately  over  the  curve  of  the  surface 
of  the  water. 

§  237.  Course  and  length  of  the  aqueduct. 

At  the  eastern  bank,  just  above  the  dam,  the  aque- 
duct receives  its  waters  from  the  lake,  which  is  ele- 
vated one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above  the  Hudson 
Eiver,  six  miles  below,  at  mean  tide.  From  the  dam 
the  aqueduct  follows  the  southern  bank  of  the  Croton 
nearly  to  its  mouth,  and  then  passes  down  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Hudson,  with  a  declivity  of  thirteen  and 
a  quarter  inches  to  the  mile,  to  the  high  grounds 
above  Harlem  Eiver,  about  midway  between  the  Hud- 
son and  East  Eivers.  Here  it  is  carried  over  the  Har- 
lem Eiver  on  a  magnificent  and  lofty  bridge,  fourteen 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  above  tide-water ;  and  thence  it  is  led  over 
valleys  and  through  hills  to  the  great  Eeceiving  Ees- 
ervoir,  at  Eighty-sixth-street,  near  Yorkville.  This 
reservoir  is  a  vast  artificial  lake,  covering  thirty-five 
acres,  and  containing  a  hundred  and  fifty  million  gal- 
lons of  water.  Here  the  great  trunk  of  the  aqueduct 
terminates,  being  from  the  dam  to  the  upper  reservoir 
forty  and  a  half  miles  long.  Below  this  point  the 
masonry  gives  place  to  large  iron  pipes,  by  which  the 


230  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

water  is  conveyed  to  the  lower  reservoir,  and  tlience 
distributed  to  all  parts  of  the. city. 

The  face  of  the  country  through  which  the  aque- 
duct passes  presents  very  great  obstacles  to  the  con- 
struction of  such  a  work.  It  was  necessary  to  cut 
down  hills  and  fill  up  valleys,  to  cross  streams  and  to 
pierce  through  rocks.  On  the  line  of  the  aqueduct 
are  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  fourteen  culverts, 
with  an  aggregate  length  of  seven  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty-nine  feet,  and  sixteen  tunnels  varying 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty-three  feet  in  length,  amounting  in  all  to  six 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-one  feet. 

^  238.  Its  structure  and  dimensions. 

The  internal  dimensions  of  the  aqueduct  are  truly 
capacious.  At  its  completion,  the  commissioners  and 
engineers  made  a  journey  through  its  entire  length 
on  foot.  After  it  had  been  partially  filled  with  water, 
the  same  route  was  made  by  four  persons  in  a  boat 
prepared  for  the  purpose.  The  greatest  interior 
width  of  the  trunk  is  seven  feet  five  inches,  and  its 
greatest  height  eight  feet  five  and  a  half  inches,  and 
it  is  estimated  to  be  capable  of  discharging  twenty- 
seven  millions  of  gallons  daily.  The  workmanship  of 
the  aqueduct  is  of  the  most  substantial  character  pos- 
sible. The  foundation  was  first  accurately  graded,  and 
then  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  broken  stones  and 
water-cement,  upon  which  was  laid  a  floor  of  solid  ma- 
sonry. The  side-walls  are  of  solid  stone-work,  lined 
with  brick,  while  the  roof  is  an  arch  of  brick-work 
overlaid  with  a  floor  of  cement.  Every  part  of  the 
structure  is  so  covered  with  earth  as  to  be  quite  out 


WATER-WORKS — LIGHT.  231 

of  the  reach  of  the  influences  of  atmospherical  changes. 
At  intervals  of  half  a  mile  are  chimneys  of  cut  stone, 
that  serve  as  ventilators,  and  secure  a  proper  atmos- 
pheric pressure  upon  the  stream. 

The  Distributing  Eeservoir  is  located  between  For- 
tieth and  Forty-second-streets,  and  between  Fifth  and 
Sixth-avenues,  covering  two  large  blocks,  and  is  ca- 
pable of  holding  twenty  millions  of  gallons.  The 
walls  of  this  basin  are  about  forty  feet  above  the 
level  of  that  elevated  part  of  the  island.  From  this 
reservoir  the  water  is  distributed  to  all  parts  of  the 
city  by  cast-iron  pipes,  laid  through  the  streets  from 
three  to  four  feet  under  ground.  The  length  of  pipe 
already  laid  down  (1850)  amounts  to  nearly  two  hun- 
dred miles. 

^  239.  Magnitude  of  the  enterprise. 

In  magnitude  of  design  and  durability  of  construc- 
tion, the  Croton  Aqueduct  is  incomparably  beyond  any 
similar  structure  of  modern  times,  and  even  rivals  the 
most  celebrated  water-works  of  antiquity.  As  an  in- 
stance of  public  spirit  and  enlarged  liberality  in  a  free 
people,  it  stands  preeminent.  It  was  constructed  at 
an  expense  of  nine  millions  of  dollars,  raised  by  a 
self-imposed  tax,  by  a  single  city,  during  a  period  of 
great  commercial  embarrassment,  and  in  the  face  of 
great  natural  difficulties.  The  immediate  advantages 
derived  from  the  Croton  water  are  quite  sufficient  to 
satisfy  every  one  that  the  enterprise  abundantly  re- 
pays its  cost.  It  has  greatly  enhanced  the  comfort 
and  convenience  of  all  classes  of  citizens,  promoted 
sobriety  and  cleanliness,  diminished  the  malignity 
of  disease,  afforded  facilities  for  mechanical  opera- 


232  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

tions,  and  given  increased  security  against  the  rav- 
ages of  fire.  But  the  present  generation  can  never 
realize  the  full  value  of  this  gigantic  enterprise. 
When  the  population  of  the  city  shall  be  numbered 
by  millions,  and  a  thousand  new  uses  for  this  living 
current  shall  have  been  discovered,  and  the  whole 
made  subservient  to  the  physical  and  moral  welfare 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  chief  city  of  the  west- 
ern world,  the  renown  of  the  projectors  of  this  great 
work  will  rise  commensurate  with  the  greatness  of  the 
city  to  which  they  have  contributed  so  valuable  an 
endowment. 

§  240.  Illumination — ■primitive  methods. 

The  lighting  of  the  streets  of  the  city  by  night  is 
a  subject  of  municipal  economy  second  in  importance 
only  to  a  supply  of  pure  water.  In  1697,  when  the 
city  watch  consisted  of  "  four  sober  men,''  on  account 
of  "  the  great  inconvenience  that  attends  this  city  for 
the  want  of  having  light,  in  the  dark  time  of  the  moon^ 
in  the  winter  time,"  it  was  ordered  "  that  all  and 
every  of  the  housekeepers  in  this  city  shall  put  lights 
in  their  windows  fronting  the  respective  streets  of  said 
city.''  This  plan  was  soon  found  too  expensive,  and 
it  also  was  thought  to  afford  an  unnecessary  amount 
of  light,  and  accordingly  the  order  was  so  modified  as 
to  require  "  that  every  seventh  house  do  hang  out  a 
pole,  with  a  lantern  and  candle ;  and  the  said  seven 
houses  to  pay  equal  portions  of  the  expense." 

More  than  sixty  years  later  public  lamps  began  to 
be  set  up  in  the  principal  streets.  From  that  time 
downward  an  increasing  amount  of  public  attention 
was  given  to  the  subject.     Lamps  for  burning  oil 


WATER-WORKS — LIGHT.  233 

were  set  up  in  all  the  public  thoroughfares,  which 
were  maintained  and  kept  in  order  at  the  public  ex- 
pense. But  the  insufficiency  of  this  manner  of  illu- 
minating is  known  to  every  one,  and  when  its  aid 
was  most  needed  it  served  little  other  purpose  than  to 
make  the  darkness  visible.  But  the  discovery  and 
use  of  gas-light  has  wrought  a  great  revolution  in 
this  matter. 

^241.   Gas-light. 

In  1823  the  New -York  Gas-light  Company,  with  a 
capital  of  a  million  dollars,  was  incorporated,  to 
which  company  was  given  the  exclusive  right,  for 
thirty  years,  to  supply  with  gas-light  all  that  part  of 
the  city  lying  to  the  south  of  Grand  and  Canal-streets. 
The  works  of  this  company  were,  till  recently,  situated 
on  Center-street,  near  Canal  and  Hester-streets;  but 
they  have  lately  been  removed  to  new  buildings  erect- 
ed for  that  purpose  on  the  East  Eiver,  near  the  foot 
of  Twenty-third-street.  Gas-pipes  have  been  laid 
down  in  most  of  the  streets  of  that  portion  of  the  city 
to  which  the  operations  of  this  company  are  exclu- 
sively directed,  and  most  of  the  street-lamps,  and 
many  stores  and  private  dwellings,  are  lighted  with 
its  gas. 

The  Manhattan  Gas-light  Company,  incorporated  in 
1830,  is  the  rival  of  the  preceding,  and  enjoys,  by  con- 
tract, the  privilege  of  lighting  all  that  portion  of  the 
city  not  included  in  the  contract  with  that  company. 
Its  capital  was  at  first  half  a  million  of  dollars,  but  it 
has  since  been  increased  to  a  million.  The  buildings 
of  this  company  are  situated  at  the  foot  of  Eighteenth- 
street,  on  the  North  River. 


234  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§242.   Quality  of  the  light. 

The  light  afforded  by  the  gas  of  these  companies  is 
of  a  pure  white  color,  and  exceedingly  brilliant.  The 
contrast  between  the  flood  of  light  that  pours  from 
its  lamps,  and  the  dim  flickering  of  the  oil  lamps,  is 
most  striking — to  say  nothing  of  the  times  when  lan- 
terns, swung  on  poles,  guided  the  pathway  of  the  even- 
ing traveler  of  the  metropolis.  If  the  gas-lights  have 
contributed  something  to  the  unthrifty  practice  of 
turning  night  into  day,  they  have  also  done  much  to 
advance  both  the  moral  and  social  improvements  of 
the  city.  The  facilities  for  going  abroad  in  the  even- 
ing have  been  greatly  increased,  and  in  many  streets 
it  is  as  safe  and  as  agreeable  to  walk  out  in  the  even- 
ing as  by  day -light.  Crime,  too,  has  been  greatly 
diminished,  and  the  evil  propensities  of  the  vicious 
kept  in  check,  by  the  absence  of  that  darkness  in 
which  the  perpetrators  of  crime  choose  to  conceal 
themselves  and  their  wicked  deeds. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  235 

CHAPTEE  Xn. 

PUBLIC  BUILDINGS— CHURCHES— CHARITIES. 

§  243.   The  City  Hall. 

Though  New -York  is  not  celebrated  for  a  profusion 
of  architectural  embellishments,  it  nevertheless  has  a 
large  number  of  both  public  and  private  edifices,  not 
altogether  unworthy  the  attention  of  the  sight-seer, 
or  the  admirer  of  the  tectonic  art.  Among  these,  the 
first  to  be  named  is  the  City  Hall.  It  is  located  in 
the  middle  of  the  Park,  having  a  spacious  and  well- 
ornamented  area  around  it.  Thous^h  far  below  the 
geographical  center  of  the  city,  it  is  really  the  point 
from  which,  as  a  starting-point,  the  city  must  be  con- 
sidered. The  building  consists  of  two  stories,  resting 
on  a  high  and  airy  basement — the  first  of  the  Ionic 
order,  and  the  second,  Corinthian ;  and  the  whole  is 
surmounted  by  a  cupola  of  the  Composite  order.  Its 
length  is  two  hundred  and  sixteen  feet ;  its  breadth 
one  hundred  and  five  feet,  and  its  height,  without  the 
cupola,  sixty-five.  The  front  and  ends  are  of  chiseled 
white  marble,  but  the  rear,  (as  if  the  city  was  never 
to  be  on  that  side  of  it,)  was  constructed  of  brown  free- 
stone. In  this  buildino;  are  the  chambers  of  the  Com- 
mon  Council,  the  Governor's  Eoom,  (a  large  and  well- 
furnished  apartment,  used  for  the  reception  of  the  city's 
guests,)  and  many  of  the  ofiices  of  the  city  government. 
A  good  view  of  it  is  given  in  our  Frontispiece. 

§  244.  Hall  of  Records. 

Directly  to  the  east  of  the  City  Hall  is  the  Hall  of 
Records — the  same  building  that  was  originally  the 


236  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

Debtors'  Prison,  and  during  tlie  war  of  the  Eevolution 
the  dreadful  "■  Provost ;"  and  at  the  time  of  the  chol- 
era, in  1832,  it  was  used  as  a  hospital.  The  whole 
building  has  since  been  remodeled,  and,  by  the  help 
of  stucco  and  colonnades,  transformed  into  a  beautiful 
Ionic  temple,  a  hundred  and  four  feet  long  and  sixty- 
two  wide,  a  copy  of  the  temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus. 
As  its  name  indicates,  it  is  the  depository  of  the 
archives  of  the  city ;  it  also  affords  accommodations 
for  several  of  the  departments  of  the  city  government. 

§  245.   "  The  Tombs:' 

The  Halls  of  Justice  (called,  on  account  of  the 
style  of  architecture,  the  Tombs,)  are  built  on  the  site 
of  the  "  Collect,"  occupying  the  block  bounded  by 
Centre  and  Elm,  Leonard  and  Eranklin-streets.  This 
building  is  the  center  of  the  police  department  of  the 
city.  Here  the  criminal  courts  are  held;  and  here 
prisoners  detained  for  trial,  or  awaiting  the  execution 
of  their  sentences,  are  confined.  The  buildings  are 
of  light  granite,  constructed  after  the  Egyj^tian  order, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and  two  hundred 
deep — part  of  the  structure  being  two  stories  high, 
and  part  only  one. 

§  246.    The  Exchange. 

The  Merchants'  Exchange  occupies  an  irregular 
block,  bounded  by  Wall,  William,  Exchange,  and 
Hanover-streets,  and  is  the  property  of  an  association 
of  merchants.  The  present  edifice  was  begun  in  1836 
and  finished  in  1842,  to  supply  the  place  of  its  prede- 
cessor, which  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  De- 
cember, 1835.     It  is  built  of  Quincy  granite,  and  is 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  237 

entirely  fire-proof.  The  principal  front,  on  Wall- 
street,  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  feet  long;  and 
the  whole  building  two  stories  high,  above  a  lofty 
basement.  The  front  is  adorned  with  a  colonnade  of 
twelve  Ionic  pillars,  within  which  is  another  row  of 
six  similar  columns,  supporting  the  ceiling  of  a  re- 
cess forming  the  main  entrance.  The  shafts  of  these 
columns,  though  thirty-six  feet  high,  are  single  blocks 
of  granite,  weighing  thirty-three  tons  each.  The 
great  central  room,  called  the  Eotunda,  is  one  of  the 
most  imposing  halls  produced  by  modern  architecture. 
It  is  a  vast  circular  area,  surmounted  by  a  magnifi- 
cent dome,  eighty  feet  in  diameter,  and  eighty  feet 
high,  resting  in  part  on  eight  splendid  Corinthian 
columns  of  Italian  marble.  The  other  portions  of  the 
building  are  occupied  by  a  large  reading-room,  and 
the  offices  of  a  great  number  of  insurance  companies, 
bankers,  and  brokers.  The  cost  of  this  noble  edifice, 
with  the  ground  on  which  it  stands,  was  nearly  two 
millions  of  dollars. 

§  247.   The  Custom-house. 

The  Custom-house,  fronting  also  on  Wall-street, 
having  Nassau-street  on  the  west,  and  Pine-street  on 
the  north, — occupying  the  site  of  the  old  Federal  Hall, 
— was  built  simultaneously  with  the  Exchange,  its  pre- 
decessor having  been  destroyed  by  the  same  disastrous 
fire.  This  edifice  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  feet 
long,  and  ninety  broad,  with  a  colonnade  at  each  end, 
of  eight  columns — the  whole  building  being  fashioned 
after  the  Athenian  Parthenon,  Like  the  Exchange, 
it  has  a  large  circular  hall,  occupying  the  principal  part 
of  the  building,  which  is  inclosed  by  a  peristyle  of 


238  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

sixteen  Corintlilan  columns,  supporting  a  magnificent 
dome.  The  other  parts  of  the  building  are  devoted 
to  the  various  purposes  of  the  officers  of  the  customs. 
The  cost  of  the  building,  together  with  its  sit-e  and 
appendages,  was  a  little  less  than  twelve  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

§  248.   Odd  Fellows'  Hall. 

On  Grand-street,  occupying  the  entire  block  be- 
tween Centre  and  Orange-streets,  is  the  Odd  Fellows' 
Hall — a  brown  freestone  edifice  of  about  eighty  feet 
front,  and  over  a  hundred  deep  on  Orange-street,  and 
five  stories  high.  It  was  built  during  the  year  1849,  at 
a  cost  of  about  ;J1 25,000,  and  is  owned  by  a  joint-stock 
company,  made  up  chiefly  of  members  of  the  order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  to  the  uses  of  which  order  it  is  principally 
devoted.  Its  architectural  embellishments  are  chiefly 
on  the  interior.  Each  of  its  numerous  apartments  is 
fitted  up  in  a  distinct  style  of  architecture ;  so  that 
there  is  a  room  in  the  Antique,  the  Egyptian,  the  Per- 
sian, the  Doric,  the  Corinthian,  the  Gothic,  and  the 
Elizabethan  orders — almost  perfect  specimens,  both  as 
to  purity  of  style  and  elegance  of  workmanship. 

§  249.   The  Astor  Library. 

This  edifice,  with  the  valuable  free  library  designed 
to  occupy  it,  owes  its  existence  to  the  munificence  of 
the  celebrated  millionaire,  John  Jacob  Astor,  who,  by 
his  last  will,  left  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
its  establishment.  The  building  is  of  brown  stone, 
in  the  Florence  Palace  style  of  architecture,  sixty-five 
feet  front,  by  a  hundred  and  twenty  deep,  and  sixty- 
seven  and  a  half  feet  from  the  ground  to  the  top  line 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  239 

of  the  parapet.  It  is  so  built  as  to  be  completely  fire- 
proof. The  library-hall  is  sixty  by  one  hundred  feet 
in  the  clear,  and  forty  feet  in  height,  lighted  from 
the  roof,  with  a  gallery  fifteen  feet  from  the  floor,  and 
shelves  against  the  walls  quite  up  to  the  ceiling.  To 
the  right  and  left  of  the  vestibule  are  the  reading- 
rooms,  and  on  each  side  of  the  stairway  is  a  corridor 
leading  to  the  lecture-room  in  the  rear. 

§  250.    The  Arsenal. 

A  military  store-house  has  been  kept  in  New -York 
from  a  very  early  period  of  its  history.  As  early  as 
1675  a  powder-house  was  established  on  "  a  small 
island  in  the  Fresh  Water,"  and  in  1728  that  island 
was  exclusively  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  a  military 
store.  On  the  same  spot,  in  1808,  then  no  longer  an 
island,  a  large  building  was  erected  by  the  State  for 
an  arsenal,  which  continued  to  be  used  for  that  pur- 
pose till  near  the  close  of  the  year  1848.  About  the 
beginning  of  that  year,  it  was  determined  that  the 
arsenal  should  be  removed  to  a  new  location  on  Fifth- 
avenue,  between  Sixty-third  and  Sixty-fourth-streets. 
Here,  during  that  year,  was  erected  a  building  two 
hundred  feet  long,  and  fifty  feet  deep,  the  first  story 
of  stone,  and  the  rest  of  brick.  Each  of  its  corners 
is  flanked  by  an  octagonal  tower  sixty-nine  feet  in 
height ;  and  there  are  two  intermediate  towers,  each, 
on  the  front  and  the  rear  walls,  eighty-two  feet  in 
height.  The  whole  cost  of  the  building  was  about 
thirty  thousand  dollars.  It  is  occupied,  as  its  name 
denotes,  as  a  depository  for  arms  and  military  stores, 


and  belongs  to  the  State. 


11 


240  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  251.   Trinity  church. 

Among  the  churclies  of  New -York,  though  they 
are  generally  much  more  adapted  to  use  than  to 
show,  are  found  some  splendid  specimens  of  ecclesias- 
tical architecture.  Among  these,  Trinity  church,  on 
Broadway,  opposite  Wall-street,  is  deserving  of  the 
first  notice.  This  edifice  was  erected  about  ten  years 
since,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  half  a  million  of  dollars. 
The  style  of  architecture  is  what  is  technically  known 
as  the  perpendicular  Gothic,  and  the  material  is  brown 
freestone.  The  side-walls  are  forty  feet  in  height, 
supported  by  eight  substantial  buttresses,  between 
which  are  pointed  windows.  In  the  rear  wall  is  a 
magnificent  window  sixty  feet  high  and  twenty-five 
wide.  The  front  is  principally  occupied  by  the  im- 
mense tower,  thirty  feet  square,  and  supported  by 
buttresses  four  feet  wide,  and  projecting  from  each 
outer  anffle  seven  and  a  half  feet,  and  rising  to  the 
height  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet.  Through 
the  tower  is  the  main  entrance  to  the  church,  twenty 
feet  wide  and  thirty  high.  From  the  top  of  the  tower 
rises  an  octagonal  spire  of  carved  stone,  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  feet  high,  making  the  aggregate  height, 
from  the  level  of  the  street,  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  feet.  The  interior  of  the  church  is  finished  in 
the  same  style  of  costly  magnificence  and  rigid  atten- 
tion to  architectural  exactness.  Its  capacity  as  a 
place  of  worship,  however,  bears  but  a  small  propor- 
tion to  the  size  and  cost  of  the  edifice  ;  for  it  has  seats 
for  less  than  a  thousand  persons. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  241 

§  252,   Other  church  edifices. 

A  larg-e  number  of  cliurcli  edifices,  deserving:  a  fuller 
description,  must  be  passed  over  very  briefly,  or  quite 
unnoticed.  The  South  Reformed  Dutch  church,  the 
successor  of  that  which  long  stood  in  Garden-street, 
and  was  occupied  by  the  oldest  ecclesiastical  body  in 
the  city,  is  situated  at  the  corner  of  Fifth-avenue  and 
Twenty-first-street,  a  magnificent  and  highly  orna- 
mental structure,  of  the  pure  Gothic  order.  The 
church  of  the  Pilgrims,  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Union-square,  is  of  white  marble,  in  the  Eomanesque 
style.  It  is  one  hundred  and  forty-two  feet  deep,  and 
seventy-five  wide,  and  has  two  towers  in  front.  The 
Baptist  Tabernacle  church,  on  the  Second-avenue, 
near  Tenth-street,  is  a  neat  ornamented  Gothic  build- 
ing, with  pointed  towers  at  the  angles,  and  having  the 
whole  front  elaborately  ornamented.  It  is  ninety- 
two  feet  deep,  and  sixty-four  wide,  and,  altogether,  one 
of  the  most  elegant  and  commodious  churches  in  the 
city,  capable  of  seating  nearly  a  thousand  persons. 
St.  George's  church,  on  Stuyvesant-square,  successor 
to  the  venerable  structure  in  Beekman-street,  has  a 
front  of  ninety-four  feet,  and  an  entire  depth  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet.  The  architecture  is  of 
the  Byzantine  order,  and  the  whole  edifice  is  a  model 
of  massive  strenofth.  There  are  towers  at  the  front 
angles,  which  are  to  be  surmounted  by  spires,  when 
its  aspect  will  be  truly  imposing.  Its  interior  is  at 
once  elegant  and  commodious. 

The  whole  number  of  church  edifices  in  the  city,  in 
1850,  was  two  hundred  and  fifty-four,  varying,  how- 
ever, very  widely  in  their  dimensions,  styles  of  build- 


242  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

ing,  and  expeiisivoiioss.  They  belong  to  some  fifteen 
or  sixteen  different  denominations ;  of  whicli  the 
Episcopalians  have  forty-nine ;  the  ]\Iethodists  forty- 
six  ;  the  Presbyterians  forty-four  ;  the  Baptists  thirty- 
eight  ;  the  Koman  Catholics  nineteen  ;  and  the  Ee- 
formed  Dutch  seventeen  ;  and  various  other  denomin- 
ations from  ten  to  two  each. 

§  253.  Charities  of  New  -York. 
Large  cities  commonly  furnish  wide  fields  for  the 
practical  exercise  of  benevolence,  and  in  most  Chris- 
tian and  civilized  countries  they  have  exhibited  the 
best  examples  of  that  genuine  charity  that  labors  cheer- 
fully to  mitigate  human  misery.  To  this  general 
statement  New -York  forms  no  exception,  and  it  is  re- 
markable only  for  the  amplitude  of  the  provisions 
there  made  for  the  relief  of  the  multitudes  whose 
necessities  are  perpetually  demanding  assistance. 
Though  but  a  comparatively  small  portion  of  the 
native-born  population  ever  require  public  interfer- 
ence in  their  favor,  yet,  while  multitudes  of  destitute 
emigrants  are  constantly  crowding  our  wharves,  the 
hand  of  charity  will  not  be  stayed  for  lack  of  objects 
upon  which  to  exercise  its  beneficence ;  and  the  case 
of  the  widow  and  the  orphan  will,  in  all  conditions  of 
society,  open  a  wide  field  for  benevolent  enterprise. 
The  most  ample  provision  for  these  necessities  are 
made,  both  by  public  munificence  and  private  phi- 
lanthropy. 

§  254.  Alms-house  department. 

Public  provisions  for  the  wants  of  tlie  destitute  have 
been  almost  coeval  with  the  city  itself.     Notices  of 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  243 

this  department  have  occurred  in  the  historical  pbr- 
tion  of  this  volume.  For  a  lono*  time  the  alms-house 
occupied  a  position  .in  the  upper  part  of  the  Park. 
About  fifty  years  since  a  location  was  purchased  by 
the  corporation  on  the  East  Eiver,  nearly  three  mifes 
from  the  City  Hall,  formerly  the  residence  of  the  cele- 
brated Lindley  Murray,  and  an  infirmary  established 
there,  designed  especially  to  be  used  in  times  of  pesti- 
lence, and  for  dangerous  contagious  diseases.  Addi- 
tional buildings  were  erected  from  time  to  time,  and 
the  name  of  Bellevue  Hospital  was  given  to  the  whole 
establishment.  The  princij^al  edifice  was  of  stone, 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  and 
fifty-five  in  width,  and  four  stories  high.  To  this 
place  the  city's  poor  were  removed  in  the  year  1823, 
and  they  continued  there  until  removed,  a  few  years 
since,  to  their  present  location. 

Blackwell's  Island,  now  the  chief  seat  of  the  oper- 
ations of  the  alms-house  department  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment of  New -York,  lies  in  the  East  Eiver,  about 
four  miles  from  the  City  Hall,  reaching  from  south- 
west to  north-east  more  than  half  a  mile.  Toward 
the  southern  end  stands  the  city  penitentiary,  a  large 
four-story  stone  edifice,  capable  of  containing  a  thou- 
sand convicts.  Yet  below  this,  at  the  extreme  south- 
ern point,  is  the  hospital  for  sick  convicts.  About 
mid-way  up  the  island,  are  the  new  alms-house  build- 
ings, consisting  of  two  main  buildings,  with  wings,  one 
for  males  and  the  other  for  females,  both  built  of 
stone.  At  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island  is  tlie 
city's  lunatic  asylum,  a  large  and  imposing  edifice. 
The  stone  of  which  all  these  buildings  are  made  was 
quarried  upon  the  island  itself ;  and  this  labor,  as  well 


244  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

as*miicli  of  that  of  building,  was  performed  by  the 

convicts. 

Eandall's  Island,  lying  nearly,  three  miles  farther 
up  the  East  Elver,  is  the  situation  of  the  nursery 
department  of  the  alms-house.  Large  and  commodi- 
ous buildings  have  been  erected  for  this  department, 
and  a  multitude  of  children  are  there  provided  with 
sustenance  and  instruction. 

The  control  of  the  alms-house  department  was,  until 
within  a  few  years  past,  in  the  city  corporation.  But 
the  increasing  magnitude  of  its  affairs  at  length  led 
to  a  separate  organization,  and  its  management  was, 
about  ten  years  since,  committed  to  an  officer  chosen 
by  the  people,  and  styled  the  Alms-house  Commission- 
er. This  arrangement,  however,  was  not  satisfactory, 
and  a  few  years  later  the  whole  department  was  re- 
organized, and  placed  under  the  independent  control 
of  ten  citizens,  called  Governors  of  the  Alms-house, 
chosen  by  the  people,  two  each  year ;  and,  that  they 
may  be  kept  above  partisan  influences,  each  elector 
votes  for  only  one,  thus  equally  dividing  the  whole 
between  the  two  principal  political  parties.  And  fur- 
ther, to  secure  the  services  of  the  best  men  for  this  im- 
portant trust,  no  salary  or  remuneration  is  allowed 
for  their  services — the  benevolent  purposes  of  the  phil- 
anthropic being  esteemed  a  better  reliance  than  any 
mercenary  motives  ;  and  thus  far  the  experiment  has 
worked  very  satisfactorily. 

^255.  New -York  Hospital. 

Passing  from  this  notice  of  the  great  public  charity 
of  the  city,  we  come  next  to  consider  the  voluntary 
associations  and  institutions  that  are  found  in  the  city, 


PUBLIC   BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  245 

each  devoted  to  some  special  department  of  benevo- 
lence. Of  these,  the  first  in  the  order  of  time  is  the  New- 
York  Hospital.  In  the  month  of  June,  1771,  certain 
officers  and  citizens  were  constituted,  by  the  Earl  of 
Dunmore,  then  governor  of  New -York,  a  corporation 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Society  of  the  Hospital  of  the 
City  of  Kew-York,  in  America."  A  building  for  the 
accommodation  of  ])atients  was  erected  in  1773,  jointly 
by  legislative  aid  and  private  liberality ;  but  in  less  than 
two  years  after  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  work 
of  rebuilding  was  immediately  undertaken ;  but  the 
coming  on  of  the  war  of  the  Eevolution  soon  put  a 
period  to  this,  as  to  every  other  similar  work.  Soon 
after  the  termination  of  the  war,  the  society  was  re- 
vived, and,  by  the  aid  of  a  legislative  grant,  it  was 
enabled,  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1791,  to  open 
a  hospital  for  the  reception  of  patients.  From  that 
period  onward  the  society  has  continued  to  enjoy  the 
bounty  of  the  State,  and  to  accomplish  the  design  for 
which  it  was  originated.  The  grounds  of  this  insti- 
tution comprise  nearly  the  whole  of  the  block  bounded 
by  Broadway,  Anthony,  Church,  and  Duane-streets. 
A  portion  of  the  front  of  the  block  on  Broadway,  at 
each  angle,  is  occupied  by  private  buildings.  An 
avenue  ninety  feet  wide,  shaded  with  ancient  elms,  leads 
from  Broadway  to  the  principal  building,  and  opens  a 
most  pleasing  view  to  the  passers-by.  The  site  is 
finely  elevated,  and  one  of  the  healthiest  situations  in 
the  whole  city. 

The  services  of  the  ofiicers  of  the  corporation,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  attending  physicians  and  surgeons, 
who  are  selected  from  among  the  most  eminent  of 
their  several  professions,  are  rendered  gratuitously. 


246  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

Applicants  are  admitted  only  on  the  recommendation 
of  a  member  of  the  corporation,  or  of  one  of  the  phy- 
sicians or  surgeons,  except  in  cases  of  sudden  acci- 
dents, when  they  are  admitted  temporarily  by  the 
superintendent,  without  such  recommendation. 

§  256.  Asylum  for  the  Insane. 

The  Bloomingdah  Asylum  fm'  the  Insane  is  a  branch 
of  the  New -York  Hospital.  The  principal  edifice  was 
begun  in  1818,  and  finished  two  years  afterward, 
and  the  institution  was  opened  for  the  admission  of 
patients  in  June,  1821.  It  is  located  on  Blooming- 
dale  Eoad,  near  Tenth-avenue,  and  One-hundred-and- 
seventeenth-street,  and  about  seven  miles  from  the 
City  Hall.  There  is  connected  with  the  institution  a 
ground-plot  of  about  forty  acres,  a  portion  of  which 
is  highly  improved.  Besides  the  beautiful  walks  and 
gardens  with  which  the  grounds  are  embellished,  the 
institution  has  also  a  collection  of  exotic  and  green- 
house plants,  that  was  once  the  property  of  Columbia 
College.  This  asylum  is  not  only  among  the  oldest 
of  its  class  in  the  country,  but  it  has  likewise  received 
the  benefits  of  the  experience  of  the  most  noted  insti- 
tutions of  the  kind  in  Europe ;  it  has  also  contributed 
much  to  the  skill  in,  and  practical  knowledge  of,  the 
treatment  of  the  insane,  that  is  now  so  prevalent  in 
our  country. 

§  257.  New  -York  Dispensary. 

The  New -York  Dispensary  was  originated  in  1790, 
by  a  few  benevolent  individuals,  to  provide  gratuitous 
medical  treatment  for  the  destitute,  and  incorporated 
in  1795.     Though  often  greatly  restricted  in  its  oper- 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  247 

ations  by  its  want  of  means,  tlie  institution  has  ex- 
tended relief  to  multitudes  of  the  sick  poor,  and  the 
field  of  its  operation  is  constantly  extending.  In  1828, 
nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  sick  or 
diseased  persons  were  treated;  in  1835,  no  less  than 
twenty-three  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-four ; 
and  in  1847,  twenty-eight  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  patients  were  relieved.  The  institution 
has  three  principal  locations — one  in  Centre-street,  at 
the  corner  of  Franklin  ;  another,  called  the  "  North- 
ern Dispensary,"  at  the  corner  of  Waverley-place  and 
Christopher-street;  and  still  another,  called  the  "East- 
ern Dispensary,"  at  the  corner  of  Ludlow-street  and 
Essex  Market-place.  For  its  funds  it  depends  chiefly 
upon  private  subscriptions,  though  it  receives  a  small 
yearly  grant  from  the  city  government,  and  also  occa- 
sional grants  from  the  State  legislature. 

§  258.  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution. 

The  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  was  incorpo- 
rated in  April,  1817.  It  is  located  on  Fiftieth-street, 
near  the  Fourth-avenue,  about  three  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  City  Hall.  The  school  was  first  opened  in 
May,  1818,  and  was  for  several  years  held  in  the  old 
alms-house  building  in  the  City  Hall.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  present  edifice  was  laid  in  October,  1827, 
and  the  school  first  occupied  it  in  the  spring  of  1829. 
The  building,  as  then  erected,  was  one  hundred  and 
ten  feet  long  on  Fiftieth-street  and  sixty-feet  deep, 
and  three  stories  high  above  the  basement.  In  1884 
an  additional  story  was  put  upon  the  main  building ; 
and  in  1838  two  wings,  each  about  thirty  feet  square 
and  four  stories  liigh,  were  erected,  giving    to   the 

11* 


248  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

building  an  eastern  and  a  western  front  of  ninety 
feet.  In  1846  two  additional  wings,  eighty-five  by 
thirty  feet  each,  with  connecting  wings,  twenty  by 
twenty-three  feet,  were  erected,  affording  spacious  ac- 
commodations for  the  increasing  number  of  pupils. 

The  management  of  the  institution  is  vested  in  a 
board  of  twenty-five  directors.  The  president,  who 
unites  in  himself  the  two  offices  of  head  of  the  so- 
ciety and  principal  instructor,  has  the  general  direc- 
tion and  control  of  the  whole  concern,  being  aided  in 
the  direction  by  an  executive  committee,  and  in  the 
department  of  instruction  and  government  by  a  large 
number  of  able  and  efficient  teachers.  The  efforts 
that  have  ^here  been  made  to  develop  the  latent 
powers  of  minds,  access  to  w^hich  by  one  of  the  chief 
avenues  has  been  closed,  has  been  eminently  success- 
ful. More  than  six  hundred  pupils  have  participated 
in  its  advantages,  and  have  gone  forth  prepared,  both 
in  heart  and  intellect,  to  discharge  their  various  social 
duties — capable  of  self-support,  and  emulous  of  the 
esteem  of  the  wise  and  good — and  especially  animated 
by  the  hope  of  a  future  state,  where  physical  infirmity 
shall  not  be  known. 

^  259.  Institution  for  the  Blind. 

The  success  that  was  crowning  the  efforts  for  the 
instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  suggested  to  some 
of  those  engaged  in  that  work  the  propriety  of  at- 
tempting to  do  something  for  the  blind.  An  associa- 
tion for  that  purpose  was  accordingly  formed,  which 
was  incorporated  in  April,  1831, by  the  name  of  "The 
New -York  Institution  for  the  Blind."  The  next 
year  three  children  were  put  under  instruction  as  an 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS CHARITIES.  249 

experiment,  and  the  result  was  said  to  be  such  as 
"  afforded  decisive  evidence  of  the  capabilities  of  the 
blind  for  receiving  instruction."  Further  "  experi- 
ments "  were  still  more  satisfactory,  and  a  lively  in- 
terest was  presently  awakened  in  behalf  of  that 
hitherto  unhappy  and  hopeless  class  of  persons.  In 
1834  the  legislature  of  the  State  made  provision  for 
the  support  of  thirty-two  indigent  pupils.  From  that 
time  the  institution  has  maintained  a  career  of  un- 
broken prosperity.  The  provisions  in  behalf  of  indi- 
gent pupils  have  since  been  so  extended  as  to  pro- 
vide for  one  from  each  assembly  district — a  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  in  all.  The  system  of  instruction 
includes  all  the  ordinary  English  branches,  and  also 
some  of  the  more  advanced  studies.  ^lusic  also,  both 
vocal  and  instrumental,  is  much  attended  to,  and 
many  useful  arts  are  taught.  The  library  contains 
about  seven  hundred  volumes  in  embossed  letters ; 
the  institution  is  also  furnished  with  maps  and  globes 
adapted  to  the  wa-nts  of  the  blind.  The  grounds  of 
the  institution  comprise  an  entire  square,  bounded  by 
Eighth  and  Ninth-avenues,  and  Thirty-third  and 
Thirty-fourth-streets.  The  edifice  is  a  fine  Gothic 
structure  of  white  marble,  from  the  prison  quarries  at 
Sing-Sing,  three  stories  high,  and  a  hundred  and 
seventy-five  feet  in  length. 

§  260.  Neio -YoWi  Orphan  Asylum. 

Near  the  close  of  the  last  century  an  association  of 
ladies  was  formed,  headed  by  the  celebrated  Isabella 
Graham,  for  the  relief  of  poor  widows  with  small 
children.  This  unpretending  society,  which  was  the 
pioneer  of  that  class  of  institutions  in  this  country, 


250  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

has  continued  in  successful  operation  for  more  tlian 
half  a  century.     Its  members  have  visited  thousands 
of  the  abodes  of  wretchedness,  dispensing  both  tempo- 
ral relief  and  spiritual  instruction  and  comfort.     But 
while  engaged  in  their  errands  of  mercy,  these  be- 
nevolent females  were  forcibly  impressed  with  a  con- 
viction of  the  necessities  of  a  class  of  poor  that  lay 
beyond  their  immediate  sphere  of  action — those  desti- 
tute ones  whom  death  had  deprived  of  both  their 
parents.     Accordingly  several  ladies,    among  whom 
were  the  widow  of  the  late  General  Hamilton   and 
Mrs.  Joanna  Bethune,  associated  for  the  purpose  of 
providing  an  asylum   for  destitute  orphan  children. 
The  society  was  fully  organized  in  the  spring  of  1806, 
and  the  asylum  opened  on  the  first  day  of  May  in  that 
year.     The  institution  was  at  first  located  in  Green- 
wich village,  where  it  was  sustained  by  private  liber- 
ality and  an  annual  grant  of  five  hundred  dollars 
from  the  State.      In  the  year  1836  a  new  building 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  orphans  was  commenced 
at  Bloomingdale,  near  Seventy-first-street,  whither  the 
institution  was  removed  in  1840.  The  grounds  amount 
to  nearly  ten  acres,  and  the  building  is  large  and  com- 
modious.   The  number  of  children  composing  the  fam- 
ily ranges  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty,  who 
are  provided  with  everything  requisite  for  their  com- 
fort and  protection,  as  well  as  for  their  mental  and 
moral  culture. 

^  261.  Leake  and  Watts^  Asylwn. 

In  the  year  1827  John  G.  Leake,  Esq.,  left  a  large 
legacy  for  the  establishment  of  an  asylum  for  orplians 
in  the  city  of  New  -York,  constituting  John  Watts,  Esq., 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  251 

the  executor  of  this  portion  of  his  will,  and  also  making 
him  the  legatee  of  a  portion  of  the  estate.  Mr.  Watts 
generously  added  his  own  portion  of  the  estate  of  Mr. 
Leake  to  that  given  for  the  orphan-house,  and  also 
faithfully  executed  the  provisions  of  the  will,  so  that 
the  names  of  those  two  benevolent  persons  have  be- 
come associated  in  the  title  of  the  institution  that  owes 
its  existence  to  their  united  liberality. 

The  institution  is  located  about  seven  miles  from 
the  City  Hall,  between  the  Fourth  and  Fifth-avenues, 
and  One-hundred-and-eleventh  and  One-hundred-and- 
twelfth-streets.  It  consists  of  a  main  building,  front- 
ing toward  the  south,  and  two  wings — the  whole  front 
beino;  two  hundred  and  six  feet  in  leng-th.  It  was  first 
opened  for  the  admission  of  the  children  on  the  first 
of  November,  1843. 

The  institution  owns  about  twenty-six  acres  of  land 
in  connection  with  its  buildings,  and  also  possesses  an 
income  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  more  than 
two  hundred  children.  The  beauty  of  the  surround- 
ing scenery,  as  seen  from  this  point,  together  with  the 
history  of  the  institution,  and  the  nature  of  its  design, 
render  this  establishment  an  object  of  peculiar  interest. 

§  262.  Colored  Orphan  Asylum. 

An  association  for  the  benefit  of  colored  orphans 
was  organized  in  the  autumn  of  1836 ;  its  patrons 
being  impelled  to  this  measure  by  the  necessities  of  a 
most  helpless  class  of  persons,  against  whom  the  doors 
of  the  ordinary  charities  of  the  city  were  shut.  After 
experiencing  much  difficulty  in  procuring  the  neces- 
sary accommodations,  a  house,  with  two  lots  of  ground, 
on  Twelfth-street,  was  purchased  for  nine  thousand 


252  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

dollars.  Here  the  asylum  was  opened,  and  continued 
to  dispense  its  favors  to  the  needy  objects  of  its  be- 
nevolence. Contributions  were  also  solicited  for  a 
building-fund,  distinct  from  those  for  the  current  ex- 
penses, which,  in  1840,  amounted  to  thirteen  thousand 
dollars.  Two  years  after,  the  corporation  granted  to 
the  society  twenty  lots  of  ground  on  the  Fifth-avenue, 
between  Forty-third  and  Forty-fourth-streets.  On 
this  location  was,  soon  afterward,  erected  the  pres- 
ent asylum  building, — a  plain  substantial  edifice, 
adapted  to  utility  rather  than  ostentation.  The  af- 
fairs of  the  society  are  conducted  by  a  committee  of 
ladies,  assisted  by  an  advisory  committee  of  gentle- 
men, and  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  Alms-house.  The  internal  arrano-e- 
ments,  as  also  the  general  policy  of  the  institution, 
are  most  excellent.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty 
colored  orphan  children  are  here  provided  for. 

§  263.  Other  benevolent  institutions . 

Several  other  charitable  institutions,  scarcely  less 
worthy  of  notice  than  the  foregoing,  each  having  its 
own  special  field  of  operation,  are  found  in  the  city. 

The  House  of  Refuge  for  juvenile  delinquents  was 
organized  and  went  into  operation  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  since.  It  is  designed,  as  its  name 
signifies,  for  children  and  youth  of  both  sexes,  who,- 
led  astray  by  the  temptations  of  the  town,  have  been 
detected  in  petty  ofi'enses  ;  and  its  purpose  is  less  to 
punisli  than  to  reform  and  protect  tlie  subjects  of  its 
salutary  discipline.  Few  of  the  institutions  of  the  city 
are  engaged  in  a  nobler  work  than  this,  and  few  if  any 
with  more  certain  success. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  253 

The  Home  for  the  Friendless,  a  spacious  and  commo- 
dious edifice,  is  designed  for  the  relief  of  friendless 
and  unprotected  females,  and  little  children.  It 
belongs  to  the  American  Female  Guardian  Society, 
and  is  located  on  Thirtieth-street,  near  the  Fourth- 
avenue. 

!nie  Colored  Home  for  the  aged, — the  Some  of  the 
Prison  Association, — the  House  of  Protection,  (a  Eoman 
Catholic  institution,) — the  Home  fo?'  Aged  and  Re- 
spectable Females,  situated  in  Twentieth-street,  and 
under  the  direction  of  the  Episcopal  denomination, 
and  a  like  institution  in  Greenwich  village,  under 
Methodist  patronage  and  direction^  may  also  be  enu- 
merated among  this  class  of  benevolent  establish- 
ments. 

§  264.  Charitable  institutions  for  seamen. 

As  a  great  commercial  cit}'-,  New  -York  is  interested 
in  whatever  relates  to  maritime  affairs,  and  especially 
in  the  protection  of  the  persons  employed  in  the  mer- 
cantile marine  of  the  city.  There  have  accordingly 
risen  up,  from  time  to  time,  in  the  city,  associations 
for  the  relief  of  the  destitute  and  needy  of  that  class 
of  persons. 

The  Marine  Society,  chartered  in  1770,  is  a  mutual- 
benefit  society,  designed  for  the  relief  of  its  own  mem- 
bers, and  for  providing  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
deceased  members.  The  whol^  sum  disbursed  in  the 
past  eighty  years  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

The  Seamen  s  Retreat,  situated  on  Staten  Island, 
was  established  by  the  legislature  of  the  State  in 
1831,  for  providing  a  hospital  for  sick  and  disabled 


254  CITY  OF  ^^EW-YORK. 

seamen.  It  is  supported  cliiefly  by  a  poll-tax  on  all 
mariners  coming  to  the  port  of  New -York;  and  all 
persons  who  have  paid  such  tax  are,  when  in  need, 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  Retreat.  More  re- 
cently the  trustees  have  been  directed  by  the  legisla- 
ture to  provide  a  building  to  be  exclusively  devoted 
to  the  use  of  the  destitute  sick  or  infirm  mothers, 
wives,  sisters,  daughters,  or  widows,  of  such  seamen 
as  have  for  two  years  contributed  to  the  funds  of  the 
hospital. 

The  Sailor^s  Snug  Harbor,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
same  island,  was  founded  in  1801,  by  a  bequest  made 
by  Captain  Robert  Richard  Randall,  for  maintaining 
aged  and  infirm  seamen.  The  property  so  devised 
was  at  first  estimated  to  be  worth  about  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  but  it  has  since  greatly  increased  in  value. 
For  many  years  the  hospital  was  located  on  a  portion 
of  the  property  on  Broadway,  near  Ninth-street,  till 
the  growth  of  the  city  in  that  part  made  a  more  re- 
tired location  desirable,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  a 
greatly  advanced  value  to  the  property  there  occupied. 
Connected  with  the  asylum  at  its  present  location  is  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land. 

The  Mariners'  Family  Industrial  Society  was  estab- 
lished in  1843,  to  provide  work,  at  a  fair  compensa- 
tion, for  the  females  of  the  families  of  seamen,  and  to 
assist  those  who  are  unable  to  labor.  Throuo-h  the 
exertions  of  the  managers  of  this  body,  assistance  has 
been  rendered  to  many  who  otlierwise  would  have 
been  compelled  to  submit  to  many  privations. 

The  Sailoi'^8  Home  in  Cherry-street,  designed  as  a 
boarding-house  for  seamen  wliile  on  shore,  was  found- 
ed in   1841.     It  is   a  substantial   brick  edifice,  six 


CO 

> 
C 

E 
O 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS — CHARITIES.  255 

stories  high,  containing  one  hundred  and  thirty 
sleeping-rooms,  an  immense  dining-room,  and  a  read- 
ing-room, with  other  necessary  apartments.  About 
five  hundred  boarders  can  here  be  accommodated, 
with  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  a  home. 

^  265.  Religious  institutions  for  seamen. 

In  the  city  is  a  Port  Society,  designed  to  provide  a 
place  of  public  worship  for  seamen,  by  which  a  house 
of  worship  was  erected  in  Eoosevelt-street  nearly 
thirty  years  since,  which  is  supplied  with  a  pastor, 
and  the  usual  Church  services.  Several  of  the  prin- 
cipal denominations,  also,  maintain  places  of  worship 
specially  designed  for  seamen.  In  Cherry-street,  near 
Clinton,  is  the  First  Mariners'  Methodist  Episcopal 
Bethel,  a  plain  and  neat  edifice,  capable  of  accommoda- 
ting a  thousand  persons ;  and  the  same  denomination 
also  maintains  a  floating  Bethel  at  the  foot  of  Rector- 
street,  on  the  Hudson  River,  where  public  worship  is 
conducted,  not  only  in  the  English  language,  but  also 
in  those  of  several  of  the  nations  of  northern  Europe. 
At  the  foot  of  Pike-street  is  the  floating  Episcopal 
Bethel ;  and  in  Cherry-street,  near  Market,  is  the  Bap- 
tist Seamen's  Chapel.  In  this  way  have  the  citizens 
of  New -York  shown  their  regard  for  this  hardy  but 
long-neglected  class,  by  providing  for  them  when  in 
port,  and  for  their  families  when  they  are  absent,  the 
means  of  religious  culture. 


256  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

CHAPTEK  XIII. 

EDUCATION. 

§  266.  Earhj  destitution. 

In  the  early  times  of  the  city  of  New -York,  compara- 
tively little  attention  was  given  to  the  subject  of 
learning.  The  means  necessary  for  obtaining  even  a 
plain  elementary  education  were  not  enjoyed  by  the 
great  body  of  the  people.  Xor  was  this  deficiency 
limited  to  the  period  of  the  city's  infancy  ;  it  extended 
with  but  little  improvement  quite  down  to  the  time 
of  the  Eevolution.  It  thus  happened  that,  while  in ' 
most  of  the  other  American  colonies  a  good  degree  of 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  popular  education  was  manifested 
by  the  provincial  and  municipal  authorities,  in  New- 
York,  for  a  long  time,  nothing  of  the  kind  was  done ; 
so  that  it  was  quite  out  of  the  power  of  any  but  the 
wealthy  to  obtain  even  an  indifferent  education  for 
their  children.  But  this  reproach  has  since  been  most 
effectually  removed.  New -York  may  now  fearlessly 
challenge  a  comparison  with  her  sister  cities  in  her 
educational  facilities ;  for  while  she  has  colleges  and 
high-schools  equaling  theirs,  her  system  of  common- 
schools  has  few,  if  any,  equals  in  the  country. 

§  267.  King's  (^Columbia)  College. 

The  oldest  of  our  institutions  of  learning  is  tlie  ven- 
erable foundation  originally  known  as  King's  College. 
As  early  as  174G,  vigorous  measures  were  adopted  for 
establishing  a  college  in  New -York;  but  on  account 
of  the  disagreement  between  the  royal  officers  and  the 


EDUCATION.  257 

provincial  assembly,  as  to  the  ecclesiastical  character 
of  the  proposed  institution,  several  years  transpired 
before  anything  was  effected.  At  length,  however, 
as  usual,  the  royal  party  prevailed,  and  the  college 
went  into  operation  under  the  auspices  of  the  Episco- 
pal denomination,  in  connection  with  the  Established 
Church  of  England.  A  royal  charter,  dated  Oct.  31, 
1754,  was  received,  giving  the  new  institution  the 
usual  franchises  of  an  English  college,  and  designa- 
ting it  King's  College.  Two  years  later,  an  edifice 
was  erected  for  the  use  of  the  college,  on  grounds 
granted  for  that  purpose  by  the  corporation  of  Trinity 
Church,  and  soon  after  the  institution  was  opened  for 
the  reception  of  students.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  a  grammar  school  and  a  medical  department 
were  added,  and  before  the  beginning  of  the  war  of 
the  Ee volution  its  course  of  actual  instruction  em- 
braced most  of  the  branches  usually  pursued  in  Euro- 
pean colleges.  But  the  war  suddenly  ended  all  its 
operations ;  the  students  were  dispersed,  and  the  build- 
ings appropriated  to  military  purposes. 

§  268.  Primary  education. 

Before  the  Eevolution  no  decided  efforts  had  been 
made  to  provide  the  means  of  primary  instruction  for 
the  whole  juvenile  population.  No  sort  of  a  system 
of  common-school  education  was  then  in  existence  in 
New -York.  The  whole  business  of  education  was  left 
to  regulate  itself,  or,  if  regarded  at  all  by  the  public 
authorities,  it  was  rather  to  lay  new  burdens  and  re- 
strictions upon  it,  than  to  give  to  it  increased  facilities 
and  a  wider  application.  Such  as  sufficiently  highly 
appreciated  the  value  of  education,  and  were  able  to 


258  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

pay  the  expense  of  it,  availed  themselves  of  siicli  facili- 
ties as  were  offered  by  private  teachers,  many  of  ^vllom 
were  quite  inadequate  to  the  responsibilities  they  as- 
sumed. Yet  these  schools,  inadequate  as  they  were, 
served  a  most  valuable  purpose,  and  preserved  some 
little  degree  of  learning  among  the  forming  popu- 
lation of  the  infant  city.  In  consequence  of  these 
deficiencies,  the  standard  of  intelligence  among  the 
people  of  Xew-York,  on  the  eve  of  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, was  far  from  elevated ;  yet  the  seminal  prin- 
ciples of  intelligence  were  among  them,  and  tliese, 
united  to  the  active  spirit  of  freedom  that  prevailed, 
could  not  fail  of  a  large  and  prosperous  development. 

§  269.  Educational  matters  after  the  Revolution. 

After  the  restoration  of  peace,  the  attention  of  the 
people  began  to  be  directed,  with  greatly  increased 
interest,  to  the  cause  of  education.  The  influence  of 
patriotism — a  sentiment  that  had  attained  a  great 
influence  during  the  recent  political  agitations — was 
now  added  to  that  of  parental  care  and  solicitude,  and 
education  soon  came  to  be  considered  a  public  as  well 
as  a  private  concern.  Schools  were  accordingly  in- 
creased, both  by  private  enterprise  and  by  the  com- 
bined efforts  of  liberal  and  benevolent  individuals  ; 
and  a  largely-increased  number  of  children  was  found 
attending  them.  Among  the  earliest  public  move- 
ments toward  satisfying  tlie  increasing  demands  were 
those  made  by  the  Churches  and  ecclesiastical  bodies. 
By  several  of  these,  schools  were  established  and  main- 
tained; which,  as  they  were  sustained  by  a  large  num- 
ber .of  individuals,  were  thus  rendered  more  stable, 
and  also  more  elevated  in  their  character.    For  nearly 


EDUCATION.  259 

a  quarter  of  a  century  these  private  and  ecclesiastical 
schools  were  all  that  the  city  enjoyed  as  facilities  for 
promoting  primary  education. 

§  270,  Free-schools. 

The  system  of  free-schools,  now  the  prevailing  form 
of  public  education,  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  During  the  later  years  of  the  last 
century  and  the  first  of  the  present,  a  number  of  be- 
nevolent ladies,  acting  as  an  "  Association  for  the  Ee- 
lief  of  the  Poor,"  while  engaged  in  their  errands  of 
mercy,  became  cognizant  of  the  deplorable  ignorance 
and  consequent  degradation  of  the  children  of  the 
poor,  and  resolved  to  attempt  to  do  something  to  re- 
move these  evils.  A  school  established  under  the 
auspices  of  this  association  was  commenced  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  year  1802.  From  this  humble  begin- 
ning the  prevailing  system  of  free-schools  grew  up, 
and  has  continued  to  increase  to  its  present  extent  and 
usefulness ;  and  by  its  operations  the  public  mind  is 
settling  down  upon  the  conviction  that,  among  the 
duties  of  the  commonwealth,  that  of  providing  the 
means  of  education  for  all  its  children  is  not  the  least 
important,  and  certainly  binding. 

§  271.   The  Free- School  Society. 

The  efforts  thus  made  to  meet  the  demands  for  ed- 
ucation, though  wholly  insufficient  for  the  work  un- 
dertaken, were  at  least  a  recognition  of  the  wants  of 
the  poor  in  this  matter,  and  of  the  duty  of  the  public. 
This  was  soon  felt  and  made  operative  among  others 
besides  the  benevolent  association  that  had  already 
begun  to  act  in  the  business.     In  1805  a  few  philan- 

12 


260  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

thropic  gentlemen  met  to  consult  as  to  the  feasibility 
of  some  means  of  answering  the  demands  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  for  elementary  education.  Their  de- 
liberations resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  "Free-School 
Society — for  the  education  of  children  who  do  not  be- 
long to,  and  are  not  provided  for  by  any  religious 
society  ;'^  and  the  association  thus  formed  was  soon 
afterward  incorporated  by  the  State  legislature,  hav- 
ing De  Witt  Clinton  for  its  president,  and  many  of 
the  first  citizens  for  its  members  and  patrons.  The 
funds  required-  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  thus 
undertaken  were  raised  by  voluntary  contributions. 
The  first  school  established  by  the  new  society  was 
opened,  in  May,  1806,  in  Bancker  (Madison)  street, 
not  far  from  its  junction  with  Pearl-street.  Events 
soon  proved  that  the  society  had  met  a  real  want  of 
the  community ;  and  that  while  on  tlie  one  hand  the 
hopeful  recipients  of  its  bounties  were  multiplied  al- 
most without  limit,  on  the  other  hand  both  public  and 
private  munificence  were  cheerfully  extended  to  them. 
Soon  after  its  commencement,  Colonel  Henry  Eutgers 
presented  to  the  society  a  lot  of  ground  in  Henry- 
street,  valued  at  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  to  be 
occupied  by  a  school-house.  The  next  year  the  aftairs 
of  the  society  were  laid  before  the  legislature  of  the 
State,  accompanied  by  a  request  for  pecuniary  aid, 
which  was  answered  by  a  grant  of  four  thousand 
dollars  for  the  building  of  a  school-house,  and  one 
thousand  dollars  annually  toward  paying  the  current 
expenses  of  the  school.  About  the  same  tiuie  the 
city  authorities  granted  the  society  the  use  of  a  build- 
injx  on  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Park  for  a  school- 
house,  on  the  condition  that  fiftv  of  the  children  of 

7  V 


EDUCATION.  261 

the  alms-house  should  he  taught  in  the  school.  To 
this  place  the  Free-School  was  therefore  removed  from 
its  first  location  in  Bancker-street.  So  well  did  this 
new  plan  operate,  that  the  next  year  a  large  and  com- 
modious building  on  Try  on-row,  near  Chatham-street, 
formerly  occupied  as  an  arsenal,  was  conveyed  to  the 
society,  with  a  grant  of  money  to  aid  in  fitting  it  for 
its  new  desijrnation,  on  the  condition  that  all  the  chil- 
dren  in  the  alms-hpuse  should  he  admitted  to  the 
school.  The  same  year  a  school-house  was  erected 
upon  the  lot  granted  by  Cyl.  Eutgers,  by  means  of 
funds  received  from  the  State  and  from  individual 
donations,  and  soon  after  a  second  school  was  oi)ened 
in  that  place. 

§  272.  Moral  and  religious  instruction  in  the  free-schools. 
The  board  of  the  "  Free-School "  had,  from  the  first, 
contained  individuals  of  various  religious  denomina- 
tions, and,  by  common  consent,  all  ecclesiastical  ques- 
tions were  carefully  excluded.  They,  however,  always 
recognized  the  duty  of  caring  for  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious instruction  of  those  cast  upon  their  protection. 
They  accordingly  from  the  first  had  directed  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  should  be  read  at  the  daily  opening 
of  the  schools.  At  length,  at  the  request  of  many  of 
the  active  friends  of  the  society,  an  association  of 
highly  respectable  ladies,  of  different  religious  denom- 
inations, were  permitted  to  meet  at  the  school-rooms 
once  a  week,  to  instruct  the  pupils  from  such  cate- 
chisms as  their  parents  might  approve.  At  the  same 
time  Sunday  monitors  were  appointed  to  conduct  the 
children  to  appropriate  places  of  worship.  Such  ser- 
vices rather  indicate  the  necessities  of  the  times  when 


262  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

they  were  used,  than  suggest  matter  of  practical  utility 
in  the  present  condition  of  things. 

§  273.  The  Common- School  Fund. 

In  1815  the  first  dividend  of  the  Common-School 
Fund  of  the  State  was  made,  in  the  distribution  of 
which  the  Free-Schools  received  nearly  four  thousand 
dollars,  as  the  first  annual  installment.  In  this  the 
board  saw  an  assurance  of  a  certain  and  steady  supply 
of  the  funds  requisite  for  the  prosecution  of  their  work 
of  benevolence,  and  accordingly  they  expressed  their 
high  appreciation  of  the  munificence  of  the  State  to- 
ward their  enterprise.  It  is  only  just  to  remark,  that 
this  association,  having  always  justified  the  confidence 
then  reposed  in  it,  has  also  continued  to  the  present 
time  to  participate  largely  in  the  bounty  of  the  State 
government. 

§  274.  Increase  of  schools. 

The  two  schools  already  noticed  were  the  only  ones 
established  and  maintained  by  the  society  before  the 
year  1818,  when  a  third  school  was  opened  in  a  build- 
ing granted  for  that  purpose  on  the  corner  of  Amo3 
and  Hudson-streets,  in  Greenwich  village,  and  soon 
after  removed  to  a  new  school-house,  built  upon  ground 
given  by  Trinity  Church,  in  Christopher  (now  Grove) 
street.  The  next  year  a  fourth  school  was  opened, 
and  a  house  erected,  by  means  of  aid  from  tlie  State ; 
and  in  1820  another,  the  fifth,  located  in  Mott-street. 
In  1824,  the  alms-house  having  been  removed  to 
Belle vue,  at  the  request  of  the  city  authorities  the 
board  opened  a  school  in  that  place,  designed  espe- 
cially for  the  benefit  of  the  pauper  children.     The 


EDUCATION.  263 

society  had  thus,  in  the  term  of  eighteen  years,  from 
its  humble  school  of  forty  scholars,  increased  steadily, 
till  now  its  six  schools  contained  an  ao-o-reffate  of  four 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  scholars,  and 
had  fairly  won  for  itself  the  position  of  the  proper  dis- 
penser of  the  public  funds  for  the  promotion  of  popu- 
lar education,  especially  among  the  poor  and  destitute. 
The  range  of  its  system  of  instruction  was  steadily 
enlarging;  the  rigid  economy  that  pervaded  all  its 
affairs  enabled  it  to  do  much  with  its  limited  means ; 
and,  by  the  joint  aid  of  the  public -funds  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  board,  and  of  private  liberality,  these 
schools  were  maintained  without  expense  to  the  pupils. 

§  275.  Rival  school^and  societies. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that,  from  an  early  pe- 
riod, many  of  the  Churches  and  ecclesiastical  bodies 
in  the  city  had  maintained  schools  in  connection  with 
their  proper  religious  organizations.  They  were  at 
first  compelled  to  that  course  by  the  want  of  any  ade- 
quate provisions  for  primary  education,  under  the  care 
of  the  civil  government,  as  well  as  by  a  laudable  zeal 
for  the  best  interests  of  their  own  children  and  youth. 
It  was  only  proper,  therefore,  that  when  public  munifi- 
cence was  extended  to  the  several  schools  of  the  city, 
these  should  share  with  the  others.  The  plan  of  dis- 
tributing to  all  regularly  organized  schools  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  children  actually  taught,  worked 
very  well  for  a  time ;  but  it  was  presently  found  to  be 
liable  to  abuses.  It  was  at  length  ascertained  that 
certain  ecclesiastical  schools,  over  which  the  public 
had  no  supervision  or  control,  were  drawing  together 
large  numbers  of  children,  and  diverting  the  pub- 


264  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

lie  funds  to  themselves.  By  employing  teachers  at 
low  rates,  and  affording  an  inferior  order  of  instruc- 
tion, these  schools  were  able,  not  only  to  meet  their 
own  expenses,  but  to  become  a  source  of  emolument, 
an^  of  Church  aggrandizement.  These  surplus  funds 
were  permitted  to  be  employed  in  erecting  additional 
school-houses,  which  thus  became  the  property  of  their 
respective  Church  corporations,  and  were  liable  to  be 
alienated  to  purposes  quite  foreign  to  the  interests  of 
education.  This  was  quite  unsatisfactory  to  the  peo- 
ple generally,  and*  at  length  the  whole  subject  was 
referred  to  the  legislature  for  its  authoritative  inter- 
ference. By  that  body  a  law  was  soon  after  passed, 
confining  the  application  of  the  Common-School  Funds 
for  the  city  of  Xew-Yorii  to  the  schools  under  the  care 
of  the  "  Free-School  Society,"  "  the  Mechanics'  So- 
ciety," "  the  Orphan  Asylum  Society,"  and  of  the 
*'  Trustees  of  the  African  Schools." 

Thus  encouraged,  the  first-named  society  continued 
to  enlarge  its  operations.  A  new  school-house  was 
built  in  Christie-street,  near  Walker-street,  in  which 
another  school,  making  seven  in  all,  was  opened  Dn 
the  first  day  of  May,  1826 ;  and  in  the  following  No- 
vember still  another,  in  Grand-street,  near  Wooster. 
About  the  same  time  a  school,  established  some  time 
before  at  Bloomingdale,  was  taken  into  the  care  of 
the  society — making  the  ninth  school  now  sustained 
by  the  labors  and  funds  of  the  society. 

§  276.   State  of  learning. 

The  insufficiency  of  the  existing  provisions  for  pri- 
mary education  became  tnore  and  more  manifest  as 
the  'efforts  of  the  *'  Public-School  Society"  (the  name 


EDUCATION. 


265 


given  to  the  Free-School  Society  in  its  amended  char- 
ter) disclosed  the  true  state  of  things.  The  necessity 
for  some  more  comprehensive  system  began  to  be  con- 
fessed by  the  more  intelligent  and  liberal  portion  of 
the  people.  The  plan  of  making  the  schools  free  to 
all,  and  of  maintaining  them  at  the  i:>ublic  expense, 
began  to  be  considered,  and  was  at  length  adopted. 
While  this  project  was  under  discussion  (1829)  a  thor- 
ough enumeration  was  made  of  all  the  children  in 
the  city,  and  all  the  schools  of  every  class  and  grade, 
the  result  of  which  is  given  in  the  following  table : — 


Kinds. 


430  Private 

3  Incorporated. 
19  Charity. 


Si 
si 

AGKE 

OF  PCPILS. 

C    on 

11 

SIS 

^: 

o^ 

691 

1,013 

13,631 

676 

29 

33 

1,008 

40 

30 

197 

2,297 

50 

45 

... 

6,007 

... 

STUDIES   PUKSUED. 


Jl  Public 45 

463'      Total 795  1,243  22,943  766  15,564  9,489 


t»2 


CSS 


k.£) 


-5  t*  £  _ 

■^  C  jy 


_   5  I  = 


Total. 


<  i 


6,907  7,21411,869  44215,320 


220 
2,430 

6,007  i 


840 
960 
475 


270 
15 


48 
1 


1,081 
2,544 
6,007 


2,154-491 1 24,952 


In  this  enumeration  was  included  every  grade  of 
schools,  from  the  college  to  the  dames'  alphabet  classes  ; 
so  that  a  truthful  exhibit  of  the  educational  apparatus 
for  the  whole  city  was  thus  made.  The  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  city,  at  that  time,  amounted  to  about  two 
hundred  thousand :  so  that  it  appeared  that  only  one- 
eighth  of  the  whole  were  attending  school  at  all ;  or, 
allowing  one  quarter  of  the  whole  to  have  been  be- 
tween the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen,  not  more  than  one- 
half  of  these  were  in  any  of  the  schools  of  the  city. 
The  statement  of  the  branches  taught  indicat<3d  the 
low  degree  of  attainment  among  those  who  attended 
the  schools — of  whom  three-fifths  were  confined  to  the 


266  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

first  elements — spelling,  reading,  and  writing — while 
most  of  those  further  advanced  had  gone  no  further 
than  to  add  to  these  some  little  attention  to  the  first 
principles  of  arithmetic,  English  grammar  and  mod- 
ern geography.  A  little  more  than  two  thousand 
were  reported  to  be  pursuing  the  higher  English 
studies — mostly  in  private  schools — and  less  than  five 
hundred  were  studying  the  ancient  languages.  These 
statistics  present  a  sad  picture  of  the  wants  of  the 
cause  of  education  in  the  city  at  that  period ;  but  they 
led  to  the  remedy  for  the  evils  they  proclaimed. 

§  277.  Progress  of  the  cause  of  education. 

The  energy  and  perseverance  exhibited  by  the  Pub- 
lic-School Society  secured  for  itself  a  large  share  of 
public  confidence,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  rise  to 
increased  interest  in  the  cause  of  popular  education. 
Almost  the  whole  of  the  Common-School  Funds  for 
the  city  were  intrusted  to  the  disposition  of  that  soci- 
ety, and  were,  by  its  board  of  officers,  most  judiciously 
employed  in  forwarding  the  common  cause.  New 
schools  were  established  in  various  parts  of  the  city, 
the  system  of  instruction  was  revised  and  extended, 
increased  facilities  for  teaching  were  provided,  and,  by 
increased  experience,  the  teachers  were  constantly  be- 
coming better  adapted  to  their  stations  and  duties. 
To  effect  a  more  thorough  classification,  primary 
schools,  distinct  from  the  more  general  ones,  were  es- 
tablished, designed  for  those  who  were  pursuing  only 
the  first  elements.  These  schools  wTre  regarded  by 
the  public  with  much  favor ;  and  so  rapidly  were  they 
multiplied  that  they  soon  outnumbered  those  for  the 
more  advanced  pupils. 


EDUCATION.  267 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1834  the  man- 
agers of  the  Manumission  Society  transferred  their 
schools  for  colored  children  to  the  Public-School  So- 
ciety, as  it  was  believed  that  they  could  be  best  man- 
aged by  an  association  wholly  devoted  to  the  advance- 
ment of  popular  education,  and  the  character  of  that 
society  was  esteemed  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  the 
trust  thus  confided  to  them  would  be  discharged  with 
all  requisite  fidelity. 

The  growing  operations  of  the  society  continued  to 
demand  increased  facilities  and  a  greater  number  of 
properly  qualified  teachers.  To  meet  these  demands, 
in  1841  a  building,  designed  to  be  used  as  a  trustees' 
hall,  and  for  various  other  purposes  of  the  society,  was 
projected,  and  built  at  the  corner  of  Grand,  and  Elm- 
streets.  Here  is  the  society's  depository,  and  here  a 
normal  school  for  training  teachers  was  established. 
At  that  time  the  society  had  under  its  care  thirty- 
four  public-schools  and  sixty  primaries. 

§  278.   Opposition  and  advancement. 

The  favor  with  which  the  oi)erations  of  the  Public- 
School  Society  were  so  generally  regarded  was  not, 
however,  universal.  The  leading  persons  of  the  Eo- 
nian  Catholic  denomination  were  not  pleased  that  an 
institution  over  which  they  could  not  exercise  a  con- 
trolling influence  should  have  the  whole  duty  of  pro- 
vidins:  for  the  education  of  the  masses  committed  to 
their  direction.  A  portion  of  the  public  funds  was 
claimed  for  the  benefit  of  their  own  ecclesiastical 
schools.  To  grant  their  request  would  have  been  to 
abandon  the  course  of  policy  under  which  the  Public- 
School  Society  had  built  up  the  system  of  common- 

12* 


268  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

school  education,  that  was  shedding  so  happy  an  in- 
fluence on  the  cause  of  popular  instruction  in  New- 
York.  It  was  evident,  too,  that  if  the  Eoman  Catho- 
lics were  permitted  to  participate  in  the  public  funds, 
all  other  sects  would  demand  the  same  in  behalf  of 
their  schools.  The  subject,  however,  was  earnestly 
pressed  by  the  Roman  Catliolic  leaders,  and  at  length 
it  was  made  a  political  question.  It  was  plead  that  the 
public  nature  of  the  cause  of  education  required  a 
more  popular  constitution  of  the  official  boards  of  in- 
struction than  was  the  case  witli  the  Public-School 
Society.  In  1842  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  State,  materially  modifying  the  whole  53^8- 
tem  of  public  education  for  the  city  of  New -York. 
This  law  was  hastily  prepared,  and,  when  reduced 
to  practice,  its  details  were  found  exceedingly  imper- 
fect or  conflicting.  The  next  year  the  whole  subject 
was  reviewed  by  the  legislature,  and  the  law  so 
amended  as  to  perpetuate  the  Public-School  Society 
in  its  former  efliciency,  but  placing  it,  in  common 
with  all  the  schools  that  were  permitted  to  receive  the 
public  funds,  under  the  general  oversight  of  a  popu- 
larly elected  board  of  public  education.  Under  this 
arrangement  the  aff'airs  of  the  society  have  gone  on 
steadily  and  prosperously  to  the  present  time.  In 
1850  it  had  under  its  care  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
schools,  containing  an  aggregate  of  fifty-three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  forty-six  pupils,  conducted  at 
an  annual  expense  of  gl31,121,  and  holding  real 
estate  estimated  to  be  worth  a  little  more  than 
;g.300,000,  and  encumbered  with  a  permanent  debt  of 
;6^1 20,000. 


EDUCATION.  269 

^  279.   The  ivard-schools. 

The  Public-School  Society  was  the  pioneer  in  the 
cause  of  popular  education  in  the  city  of  New -York. 
At  first  its  etibrts  were  directed  only  to  the  indigent 
and  neglected— to  such  as  "  were  not  provided  for  by 
any  religious  society.^'  In  1808  its  sphere  was  some- 
what enlaro'cd,  and  it  was  authorized  to  receive  "  all 
children  who  are  the  proper  objects  of  a  gratuitous 
education."  When  the  common-school  system  of  the 
State  came  into  operation,  that  society  was  made  the 
agent  through  which  the  public  bounty  was  dispensed, 
and,  in  1826,  it  was  directed  to  "  provide  for  the  educa- 
tion of  all  the  children  in  the  city  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for,  to  the  extent  of  its  ability.'^  Matters  con- 
tinued in  that  position  until  the  year  1842,  when  the 
present  system  of  public  instruction  was  adopted. 
This  system  provides  for  a  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
the  whole  city,  and  a  Board  of  School  Trustees  for 
each  ward,  all  chosen  by  the  voters  of  the  city,  and 
of  the  several  wards.  The  commissioners  have  the  gen- 
eral superintendence  of  all  the  schools  in  the  city  that 
receive  any  portion  of  the  common-school  funds,  while 
the  trustees  hold  the  school  property  in  their  several 
wards,  and  direct  in  many  of  the  details  of  their  gov- 
ernment. They  have  the  exclusive  power  to  employ 
teachers,  and  to  direct  in  the  selection  of  books  to  be 
used  after  the  schools  have  been  brought  fully  into 
operation.  The  power  of  these  trustees  does  not,  how- 
ever, extend  to  the  schools,  nor  the  property  of  the 
Public-School  Society. 

Under  the  new  school  law,  additional  school-houses 
are  established,  chiefly  under  the  care  of  tlie  ward 


270  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

trustees,  and  thus  a  new  class  of  schools,  of  which 
there  were  none  before  the  passage  of  the  law  of  1842, 
have  sprung  up  in  the  city.  The  Public-School  So- 
ciety, at  the  same  time,  has  prosecuted  its  work  with 
unabated  activity,  so  that  there  are  here  two  distinct 
classes  of  schools,  occupying  at  once  the  same  ground, 
though  both  under  the  same  general  supervision.  It 
would  scarcely  be  expected  that  these  rival  systems 
should  not  be  the  occasion  of  some  jealousies  ;  though 
recently  these  have  been  rather  mollified  than  ex- 
asperated, until  at  length  they  are  found  cooperating 
in  the  common  cause  of  education,  with  a  good  degree 
of  harmony.  The  ward-schools  are  conducted  on  much 
the  same  plan  with  the  public-schools ;  and  while  the 
latter  have  the  advantage  of  greater  maturity  and  the 
disinterested  counsel  of  the  trustees  of  the  society, 
the  former  are  the  special  subjects  of  the  public 
bounty.  In  1850  there  were  sixty-five  ward-schools, 
containing  together  forty-five  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  seventy-two  pupils. 

m 

^  280.   Corporate-schools . 

Beside  the  two  classes  of  schools  already  described, 
there  are  in  the  city  a  number  of  schools  under  the 
care  of  special  corporations,  generally  of  the  nature 
of  charity-schools.  Of  these,  the  most  considerable 
are  the  Manhattan  Free-School ;  the  Hamilton  Free- 
Scliool  ;  the  Mechanics'  Society  School ;  and  the 
schools  of  the  "  New -York  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Education  among  Colored  Children."  In  this  class 
are  also  reckoned  the  schools  maintained  in  several 
of  the  asylums,  and  other  public  institutions  having 
the  care  of  children.     The  whole  number  of  children 


EDUCATION.  271 

taught  in  all  these  corporate-schools,  in  1850,  was 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-six,  which,  add- 
ed to  the  sum  of  those  taught  in  the  public  and 
ward  schools, 'make  up  an  aggregate  of  one  hundred 
and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-four 
pupils  actually  taught  in  the  common-schools  of  the 
city  in  one  year.  This  shows  a  most  gratifying  prog- 
ress in  the  course  of  popular  instruction  in  the  city 
during  the  past  twenty  years  ;  for,  while  in  1829,  only 
one-eighth  of  the  population  attended  schools  of  any 
kind,  now  nearly  one-fifth  are  found  in  the  various 
classes  of  common-schools,  besides  the  multitudes  that 
are  still  attending  the  various  private  and  public 
schools  not  under  the  care  of  the  Board  of  Education. 
All  the  schools  that  share  in  the  common-school 
funds  are  entirely  free,  as  to  both  tuition  and  school 
requisites. 

§  281.   The  Free  Academy — its  origin. 

The  progress  made  in  the  cause  of  popular  educa- 
tion in  New -York,  at  length  suggested  to  the  active 
friends  of  that  cause  the  need  and  the  practicability 
of  still  further  extending  the  benefits  of  the  system. 
Especially  was  it  found  necessary  to  make  some  better 
provisions  for  supplying  the  schools  already  existing 
with  a  sufiicient  number  of  properly  qualified  teachers. 
Considerable  numbers  of  the  most  advanced  pupils  of 
the  common-schools  were  compelled  from  time  to  time 
reluctantly  to  leave  the  schools,  and  to  relinquish  the 
further  pursuit  of  learning,  only  because  they  had 
gone  over  the  whole  course  of  instruction  there  offered 
to  them.  It  was  becoming  evident  that  the  number 
of  this  class  of  pupils  was  so  rapidly  increasing,  that 


272  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

very  soon  enough  would  be  found  to  fill  a  properly 
orii-anizod  liiixli-scliool.  This  state  of  thino-s  resulted 
in  the  end  in  the  establishment  of  the  Free  Academy. 
The  matter  was  first  agitated  during  the  year  1846, 
and  the  next  year  iXxa  subject  was  laid  before  the 
legislature,  and  an  act  procured,  granting  the  power 
to  establish  the  proposed  school,  provided  the  scheme 
should  be  sanctioned  by  the  votes  of  the  electors. 
The  question  was  accordingly  submitted  to  the  people 
in  the  month  of  June  of  tliat  year,  and  sustained  by 
more  than  five-sixths  of  those  who  voted  at  all  on  its 
merits. 

§  282.  Free  Academy — location,  etc. 

The  institution  thus  founded  is  located  on  the  south- 
easterly corner  of  Lexington-avenue  and  Twenty- 
third-street  The  edifice  is  one  hundred  and  twentv- 
five  feet  long,  and  eighty  broad  ;  and  consists,  besides 
the  basement,  of  three  spacious  stories,  each  of  which 
is  intersected  by  two  wide  passages  running  at  right 
angles  quite  across  the  building.  It  is  designed  to 
accommodate  a  thousand  students,  with  all  the  neces- 
sary appliances  for  teaching.  The  building  is  of  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture,  but  so  arranged  as  to 
combine  economy,  with  all  necessary  architectural 
embellishments.  The  cost  of  the  structure  was  limited, 
by  act  of  the  legislature,  to  j350,000,  and  less  than 
that  sum  was  actually  expended  upon  it.  The  cost 
of  the  site  was  ^25,000,  and  tliat  of  tlie  furniture  and 
fixtures  necessary  for  commencing  tlie  academical 
course,  ;g510,()0().  The  scliool  was  first  opened  for  the 
reception  of  pupils  about  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1811),  with  a  faculty  of  ten  able  professors;  and  during 


Wi|y> 


EDUCATION.  275 

the  year  more  than  two  hundred  students  were  ad- 
mitted to  its  classes. 

§  283.  Free  Academy — course  of  study. 
The  system  of  instruction  pursued  at  the  Free  Acad- 
emy is  substantially  identical  with  that  found  in 
most  of  the  higher  schools  and  colleges  in  the  country, 
though  somewhat  more  closely  adapted  to  the  practical 
affairs  of  life.  The  qualifications  for  admission  are, 
beside  a  good  moral  character,  a  thorough  training  in 
the  elements  of  an  English  education,  as  taught  in 
the  more  advanced  departments  of  the  common-schools 
of  the  city  ;  and,  rather  inconsistently  with  the  design 
of  the  institution  as  a  free  academy,  none  can  be  ad- 
mitted to  its  privileges  but  such  as  have  been,  for  at 
least  one  year,  pupils  in  those  schools.  After  admis- 
sion the  student  may  pursue  such  parts  of  the  course 
as  he,  or  his  parents  or  guardians  for  him,  may  select. 
The  course  of  study  comprises  ten  different  depart- 
ments, viz. :  Mathematics ;  History,  and  the  Belles- 
Lettres  ;  Languages  and  Literature  ;  Drawing  ;  Nat- 
ural and  Experimental  Philosophy  ;  Chemistry  and 
Physics ;  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygeine  ;  Civil 
Engineering;  Moral  and  Intellectual  Philosophy ;  Law, 
Political  Economy,  and  Statistics.  The  instruction 
and  discipline  of  the  institution  are  designed  to  be 
thorough  and  effective.  The  experiment  thus  far  has 
answered  the  best  expectation  of  its  friends,  and  prom- 
ises to  become  the  crowning  glory  of  our  system  of 
free-school  education. 

§  284.   Columbia  College, 
The  establishment  of  a  college  in  New -York  dur- 
ing its  provincial  history  has  been  already  noticed. 


276  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

After  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  that  in- 
stitution was  revived,  and  again  brouglit  into  opera- 
tion. Tlie  orio:inal  name  of  Kino's  Colleo-e  was  ex- 
clianged  for  one  more  consistent  with  the  political  no- 
tions of  the  people,  and  since  that  time  the  institution 
has  been  called  Columbia  College.  A  board  of  trustees 
was  created  for  it  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  though 
it  continued  to  be  chiefly  under  the  direction  of  the 
Episcopal  denomination.  The  number  of  its  students 
has  never  been  large,  seldom  much  exceeding  one 
hundred ;  though  it  has  been  served  by  many  able 
teachers,  and  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  liberal  en- 
dowments. The  college  buildings  occupy  the  original 
site  of  King's  College,  a  short  distance  westerly  from 
Broadway,  at  the  foot  of  Park-place.  The  buildings, 
which  are  ample  and  commodious,  are  plain  stone 
structures,  and  less  fitted  for  show  than  utility. 

§  285.    University  of  the  city  of  New  -York. 

A  conviction  that  the  city  of  New -York  required 
additional  facilities  for  collegiate  education,  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  University  of  the  city  of  New- 
York,  nearly  twenty  years  since.  It  was  incorporated 
in  April,  1831,  and,  about  a  year  and  a  half  later,  was 
opened  for  the  reception  of  students.  The  erection  of 
suitable  buildings  engaged  the  early  attention  of  the 
trustees,  and  the  present  edifice,  situated  on  University- 
place,  to  the  east  of  Wasliington-square,  was  com- 
pleted in  183G.  It  is  a  beautiful  white  marble  struc- 
ture, of  the  Gothic  style  of  arcliitecture,  and  well 
adapted  to  the  purposes  for  wliich  it  was  erected. 
A  good  degree  of  public  patronage  has  been  atibrded 
to  the  institution  ;  but  its  elilciency  seems  to  be  greatly 


EDUCATION.  277 

retarded  by  its  pecuniary  embarrassments.  About  a 
hundred  students  are  nsually  found  in  its  under- 
graduate classes. 

^  286.  Rutger^s  Female  Institute. 

For  a  long  time  tlie  want  of  suitable  bigb-scliools 
for  the  education  of  young  females  was  severely  felt 
by  the  people  of  New -York,  but  this  want  was  at 
length  in  some  measure  relieved  by  the  establish- 
ment of  Eutger's  Female  Institute.  This  institution 
is  located  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  city,  not 
far  from  the  mansion  of  the  late  Colonel  Eutgers.  It 
was  incorporated  in  1838,  and  soon  after  went  into 
operation  with  very  flattering  prospects.  Commodious 
buildings  for  school  purposes  have  since  been  erected, 
and  the  success  of  the  enterprise  has  fully  equaled 
the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  its  projectors.  J?he  course 
of  instruction  is  well  chosen  and  extensive,  affording 
to  young  ladies  all  needed  facilities  for  obtaining  a 
thorough  and  liberal  education.  The  institution  has 
enjoyed  a  large  share  of  the  favor  of  the  public,  and 
the  number  of  its  pupils  is  always  large.  But  its  lo- 
cation,* at  an  extreme  angle  of  the  city,  renders  its 
privileges  unavailable  to  a  large  portion  of  the  inhab- 
itants, and  suggests  the  need  of  similar  institutions 
in  other  parts  of  the  city. 

§  287.  Medical  schools. 

Besides  these  institutions  for  general  education, 
New-York  contains  a  number  of  schools  desio-ned  ex- 
clusively  for  professional  education.  Tlie  oldest  of 
these  is  the  College  of  Phymians  and  Surgeons,  which 
is  also  the  oldest  medical  school  in  the  State,  having 


278  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

been  founded  in  1807.  A  medical  department  had 
existed  in  Columbia  previously,  but,  in  1813,  that  was- 
merged  in  the  independent  medical  college.  The 
college  buildings  are  situated  in  Crosby-street,  near 
Broome.  The  institution  has  a  valuable  library  and 
museum,  and  is  annually  attended  by  nearly  two 
hundred  students. 

The  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  the 
city  of  New -York,  though  nominally  a  branch  of  that 
institution,  is  really  under  an  independent  organiza- 
tion. It  is  located  in  Fourteenth-street,  near  Third- 
avenue,  and  has  attained  a  high  degree  of  prosperity, 
having  at  times  more  than  four  hundred  students. 
The  college-building  contains  a  large  museum,  and 
lecture  and  dissecting-rooms. 

§  288.  Theological  schools. 

The  General  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  is  located  in  this  city,  on  Twentieth- 
street,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth-avenues.  It  was 
founded  in  1810,  by  the  concurrent  action  of  the  sev- 
eral dioceses  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States,  and  incorporated  in  1822.  'It  has 
two  noble  stone  edifices,  each  fifty-two  feet  deep  and 
one  hundred  and  ten  long.  The  library  contains  over 
ten  thousand  volumes  ;  about  seventy  students — can- 
didates for  the  ministry  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church — are  usually  in  attendance. 

The  Union  Theological  Seminary  was  founded  in 
1836,  and  is  located  on  University-place,  a  little  to 
the  north-east  of  the  University.  The  building  is  a 
commodious  edifice,  with  a  cliapol,  library,  lecture- 
rooms,   and   apartments   for   students.     A   valuable 


EDUCATION.  279 

library  of  seventeen  thousand  volumes  is  connected 
with  the  institution.  The  Seminary  is  under  the 
management  of  Presbyterians,  but  it  is  open  to  stu- 
dents of  any  denomination  of  Christians.  The  fac- 
ulty consists  of  six  able  instructors  ;  about  a  hundred 
students  are  usually  in  attendance. 

^  289.   Private  schools. 

The  progress  of  the  common  schools  of  the  city,  and 
the  fact  that  their  privileges  are  wholly  without  cost 
to  those  who  enjoy  them,  have  not  sufficed  to  destroy 
the  profession  of  teaching  as  a  private  enterprise. 
Private  schools  and  academies  of  the  better  class  have 
increased  in  a  ratio  scarcely  less  rapid  than  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  they  now  constitute  an  important 
portion  of  the  facilities  for  education  enjoyed  by  the 
people  of  New -York.  The  number  of  pupils  in  pri- 
vate schools,  in  the  year  1850,  was  estimated  at  nearly 
twenty  thousand,  made  up  almost  exclusively  from  the 
middle  and  more  opulent  clashes.  Some  of  these 
schools  have  a  high  reputation,  and  are  sought  after 
with  much  interest  by  those  whose  means  allow  them 
to  participate  in  the  advantages  they  offer. 

^  290.  New -York  Society  Library. 

Besides  schools  for  the  education  of  young  persons, 
there  are  in  the  city  a  variety  of  institutions  designed 
to  operate  directly  in  favor  of  the  diffusion  of  intelli- 
gence among  the  people.  Among  these  the  priority 
in  time  belongs  to  the  New -York  Society  Library, 
which  is  the  oldest  institution  of  the  kind  in  the  coun- 
try. It  was  instituted  in  1700,  during  the  admin- 
istration of  Lord   Bellemont.      Subsequently   it  was 


280  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

endowed  by  the  gift  of  the  library  of  Rev.  Dr.  ^lil- 
lingtoii,  of  England,  consisting  of  a  thousand  volumes. 
In  1754,  the  old  society  having  fallen  into  decay,  a 
new  organization  was  formed,  and  the  old  library 
committed  to  its  care.  This  association  was  in  suc- 
cessful operation  when  the  war  of  the  Eevolution 
arrested  its  progress,  and  spoiled  its  treasures.  After 
the  return  of  peace  the  society  was  reestablished,  and 
in  1794  it  occupied  a  commodious  building  in  Nassau- 
street,  near  Liberty-street.  In  1840  the  society  took 
possession  of  its  new  hall  on  the  corner  of  Broadway 
and  Leonard-street.  This  building,  one  hundred  feet 
long  and  sixty  wide,  is  constructed  of  finely-cut  brown 
sandstone,  and  presents  on  Broadway  a  chaste  fagade 
of  Ionic  columns. 

§  291.   The  Mercantile  Library  Association. 

A  society  composed  of  merchants'  clerks  was  orig- 
inated in  1820,  styled  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation. For  several  years  it  occupied  rooms  in  Ful- 
ton, and  afterward  in  Cliff-street,  until  its  increasing 
affairs  demanded  enlaro;ed  accommodations.  To  afford 
these,  a  number  of  merchants  subscribed  the  sum  of 
forty  thousand  dollars,  and  organized  themselves  into 
an  association  for  the  erection  of  a  hall.  The  edifice 
thus  called  into  existence,  situated  on  the  corner  of 
Nassau  and  Beekman-streets,  and  known  as  Clinton 
Hall,  was  constructed  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
Library  Association,  and  the  free  use  of  the  necessary 
apartments  was  secured  to  that  body  on  certain  very 
liberal  conditions.  The  society  consists  of  about  three 
thousand  members ;  its  library  contains  nearly  thirty 
thousand  volumes,  and  its  annual  income  amounts  to 


EDUCATION.  281 

more  than  six  thousand  dollars.  Besides  the  library 
and  readina-room,  the  society  has  a  valuable  cabinet 
of  natural  history.  The  privileges  of  this  institution 
are  afforded  to  clerks  at  a  merely  nominal  price,  while 
to  all  others  the  rates  are  much  higher. 

§  292.  Mechanics'  Associations. 

Tlie  General  Society  of  3Iechanics  and  Tradesmen^ 
established  in  1790,  occupies  the  building  at  No.  32 
Crosbv-street,  in  which  is  the  male  and  the  female  school 
of  the  society,  the  Apprentices'  Library,  and  a  spacious 
lecture-room.  Tlie  library  was  begun  in  1820,  and  is 
designed  especially  for  mechanics'  apprentices,  who 
are  allowed  the  gratuitous  use  of  the  books.  The 
number  of  volumes  is  over  fifteen  thousand.  The 
entrance  to  the  lecture-room,  called  "  Mechanics' 
Hall,"  and  to  the  female  school,  is  from  Broadway; 
while  the  boys'  school  and  the  library  are  approached 
from  Crosby-street. 

The  Mechanics'  Institute  of  the  City  of  New -York 
was  founded  early  in  1833,  having  for  its  object  the. 
diffusion  of  useful  knowledge,  by  the  founding  of  a  li- 
brary and  museum,  and  by  procuring  annual  courses 
of  lectures  on  the  physical  sciences,  and  establishing 
day  and  evenino;  schools  and  classes  for  the  instruc- 
tion  of  youth  of  both  sexes.  Besides  a  small  library, 
the  institution  possesses  a  large  collection  of  minerals, 
many  useful  and  interesting  models  of  machinery,  and 
suitable  apparatus  for  instruction.  Its  school  is  lo- 
cated in  Chambers-street,  near  the  City  Hall,  and  has 
about  two  hundred  pupils,  who  are  instructed  in  all 
the  English  branches  of  education,  and  in  the  classics, 
and  also  in  painting,  drawing  and  music.     Any  per- 


282  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

son  of  good  moral  character  may  become  a  member 
of  the  association  by  the  payment  of  a  small  sum  for 
initiation,  and  thus  secure  the  use  of  the  library,  lec- 
ture-room, and  all  the  privileges  of  the  body. 

§  293.  Learned  and  scientific  societies. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  all  of  which  have  a 
special  reference  to  the  education  of  youth,  there  are 
in  the  city  a  number  of  valuable  scientific  associations, 
each  devoted  to  some  particular  department  of  the 
sciences,  arts,  or  of  letters.  Foremost  among  these  is 
the  New -York  Historical  Society,  organized  in  1804, 
and  devoted,  as  its  name  indicates,  to  the  science  of 
history  and  statistics.  It  has  a  well-selected  library 
of  about  twelve  hundred  printed  volumes,  several 
thousand  pamphlets,  two  thousand  maps  and  charts, 
and  over  a  thousand  bound  volumes  of  newspapers, 
including  a  regular  series  from  the  first  published  in 
the  country  in  1704  to  the  present  time. 

The  American  Institute  of  the  City  of  New-Yorh  was 
•incorporated  in  1829,  and  is  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  domestic  industry.  It  holds  an  annual  fair  for  the 
exhibition  of  the  productions  of  all  trades  and  indus- 
trial employments. 

To  these  might  be  added  the  Lyceum  of  Natural 
History,  the  Ethnological  Society,  the  National  Acad- 
emy of  Design,  the  Gallery  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  sev- 
eral other  valuable  institutions. 

^  294.   Conclusion. 

Such  is  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  provisions  made  for 
the  promotion  of  education  and  the  prosecution  of 
science  in  New -York  ;   and  it  is  believed  that  very 


EDUCATION.  283 

few  cities  in  our  country  can  boast  of  a  more  ample 
and  generous  system  of  popular  instruction,  or  better 
facilities  for  gaining  knowledge.  And  when  the  de- 
pression from  which  the  cause  has  been  raised  during 
the  past  half-century  is  considered  in  connection  with 
its  present  elevation,  and  the  breadth  of  the  foundation 
upon  which  it  rests,  no  estimate  of  its  future  growth 
that  will  probably  be  made  would  seem  to  be  extrava- 
gant. It  is  presumed  that  the  history  of  the  world 
can  show  no  parallel  to  the  progress  made  by  the  cause 
of  education  in  this  city  during  the  present  century. 

13 


281^  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ENVmONS   OF  NEW-YORK- 
§  295.  Suburbs  of  New-YorJc—BrooMyn. 

Nearly  all  great  cities  have  large  and  important  sub- 
urbs, and  New -York  forms  no  exception  to  this  gen- 
eral rule.     While  the  land  on  the  southern  portion  of 
Manhattan  Island  aiforded  all  the  space  required  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  city,  these  outposts  were 
inconsiderable  villages,  possessed  of  a  kind  of  inde- 
pendent individuality ;  but  within  the  past  quarter  of 
a  century  the  overflowings  of  the  city  have  reached  to 
them,  and  caused  them  to  disappear  as  independent 
bodies,  and  to  become  absorbed  into  the  great  metrop- 
olis.    Of  these  suburban  localities  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn is  much  the  most  considerable.     Lying  just  over 
the  narrow  strait  that  joins  the  East  Eiver  to  the  bay, 
and  occupying  the  whole  north-western  front  of  Long 
Island,  where  it  approaches  nearest  to  New -York,  this 
suburb  is  actually  nearer  to  the   principal  business 
portion  of  the  great  mart  of  commerce  than  most  of 
that  city  itself.   As  an  incorporated  town,  "  Breukelen'^ 
was  amons:  the  oldest  of   the  Dutch  settlements  on 
Nassau  Island,  and  for  many  years  answered  among 
the  country  people  of  the  island  instead  of  the  greater 
city,  as  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  passing  over  the 
ferry  deterred  very  many  from  the  perilous  enterprise, 
and  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  weekly  *'  fayre ''  on 
that  side  of  the  ferry,  to  be  held  alternately  with  that 
in  the  city.     The  growth  of  Brooklyn  during  the  sev- 
enteenth and  eighteenth  centuries  was  very  slow;  so 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  285 

that  at  the  bcginiiiiig  of  the  2)resent  century  it  was 
only  a  poor  and  straggling  village  of  a  few  hundred 
inhabitants.  Nor  was  the  growth  of  the  village  for 
some  years  later  very  considerable.  As  late  as  1820 
the  population  of  the  whole  township  was  still  very 
inconsiderable,  most  of  them  being  farmers,  scattered 
over  the  open  country.  From  that  time  to  1830,  the 
increase  was  much  more  rapid — the  additions  being 
mostly  confined  to  the  village,  which  now  began  to 
assume  the  character  of  a  j^ortion  of  the  great  city. 
In  1840  the  population  was  found  to  have  grown  to 
36,233,  and  everything  about  Brooklyn  plainly  indi- 
cated that  New -York  had  thrown  its  arms  across  the 
dividing  waters.  In  the  year  1834  Brooklyn  received 
from  the  legislature  of  the  State  a  city  charter ;  so  that 
in  all  its  political  affairs  it  is  wholly  distinct  from,  and 
independent  of,  its  overgrown  neighbor — though  in 
all  that  relates  to  the  realitv  and  vitalitv  of  citv-hood, 
it  is  verily  a  part  of  New -York.  From  that  time  the 
growth  of  Brooklyn  has  been  rapid,  almost  beyond  a 
parallel ;  for  in  1850  its  population  amounted  to  a  very 
little  less  than  100,000.  Brooklyn  possesses  many 
decided  advantages  as  a  place  of  residence.  Its  ele- 
vation above  the  surrounding  waters,  and  the  dryness 
of  the  soil,  contribute  much  to  its  cleanliness  and 
salubrity.  Having  comparatively  little  business  car- 
ried on  within  its  limits,  it  is  free  from  the  crowd  and 
noise  that  distinguish  New -York;  and  being  easily 
accessible  by  means  of  the  well-regulated  ferries  across 
the  East  Eiver,  it  is  becoming  every  year  more  and 
more  the  favorite  retreat  of  the  New -York  merchants. 


286  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

<J  296.  Brooklyn,  continued. 

Brooklyn,  being  only  an  extension  of  New -York 
city  beyond  its  political  limits,  is,  in  all  its  material 
cbaracteristics,  a  portion  of  that  city ;  corresponding 
altogether  with  those  parts  of  New -York  that  have 
sprung  up  simultaneously  with  it.  The  small  portion 
near  the  ferries,  once  covered  by  the  Dutch  village, 
has  narrow  and  irregular  streets,  but  in  all  the  other 
parts  the  streets  are  sufficiently  wide,  straight,  and 
regular.  Except  its  churches,  Brooklyn  has  few  pub- 
lic or  private  edifices  requiring  any  particular  notice. 
The  court-house  and  jail  of  Kings  County  is  a  build- 
ing of  no  great  magnitude  or  architectural  preten- 
sions, situated  more  than  a  mile  beyond  the  principal 
ferry,  and  directly  to  the  west  of  the  great  natural 
mound  upon  which  Fort  Green  was  located.  The  City 
Hall,  located  at  the  head  of  Fulton-street,  (the  chief 
avenue  leading  down  to  the  great  ferry  that  commu- 
nicates with  the  street  of  the  same  name  in  New- 
York,)  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  ferry, 
is  one  of  the  most  elegant  structures  in  the  country. 
It  is  built  of  white  marble,  in  the  Ionic  order  of  archi- 
tecture, with  a  portico  and  colonnade  upon  the  north- 
ern or  principal  front,  and  finished  with  the  most  rigid 
exactness  in  all  its  parts.  The  building  consists  of 
three  stories, — a  basement,  a  principal,  and  an  upper 
story, — and  the  whole  of  it  is  devoted  to  the  public 
offices  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  and  Kings  County. 

§  297.   Brooklyn,  continued — the  Navy-yard. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Brooklyn,  on  Wallabout  Bay, 
is  the  United  States'  Navy-yard.     In  1801  the  gen- 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  287 

eral  government  purchased  about  forty  acres  of  land 
and  marsh  on  Wallabout  Bay,  on  which  to  erect 
the  necessary  works  of  an  extensive  naval  establish- 
ment. A  large  portion  of  the  public  ground  is  in- 
closed by  a  high  brick  wall,  and  within  the  yard  is  a 
great  variety  of  naval  stores  and  armaments,  besides 
a  considerable  amount  of  shipping.  Here  was  built 
the  floating  steam -battery  Fulton,  which  was  used  as 
a  receiving-ship  and  naval-school  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  being  moored  some  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  shore;  and  there,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1829,  her 
magazine  exploded,  and  she  was  reduced  to  a  hopeless 
wreck.  Her  place  as  receiving-ship  has  since  been 
supplied  by  the  ship  North  Carolina.  The  Ohio,  sev- 
enty-four, was  also  built  at  this  yard,  and  several  other 
smaller  vessels  of  our  navy,  and  more  recently  the 
San  Jacinto,  steam-frigate.  The  dry-dock  connected 
with  this  Navy-yard  is  its  most  remarkable  feature. 
This  is  an  immense  basin,  below  the  water  level,  of 
sufiicient  capacity  to  admit  the  very  largest  class  of 
vessels,  built  of  immense  blocks  of  granite,  and  com- 
municating with  the  bay  by  a  vast  gateway.  When 
these  gates  are  thrown  open,  the  largest  vessel  may 
be  easily  floated  into  it ;  and  after  the  gates  are  again 
closed,  pumps,  driven  by  a  steam-engine  of  the  most 
terrific  power,  soon  exhaust  the  confined  water,  leav- 
ing the  vessel  resting  quietly  upon  a  cradle  prepared 
to  receive  it. 

§  298.    The  Naval  Lyceum — Hospital. 

A  Naval  Lyceum,  connected  with  this  establish- 
ment, was  founded  in  1833.  It  includes  among  its 
members  most  of  the  oflficers  of  the  American  navy, 


288  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

and  many  distinguished  civilians.  It  has  a  valuable 
library  and  museum,  the  latter  of  which  contains  many 
rare  specimens  of  natural  history,  as  well  as  of  mili- 
tary and  historical  relics,  and  other  curiosities. 

On  the  easterly  side  of  Wallabout  Bay,  upon  a 
gentle  elevation,  is  the  United  States'  Naval  Hospital, 
a  spacious  and  truly  magnificent  edifice  of  white 
marble.  Here  the  aged  or  infirm  seaman,  who  has 
devoted  the  days  of  his  strength  to  the  service  of 
his  country  in  the  navy,  finds  a  home,  where  he  is  pro- 
vided with  every  attention  and  comfort  that  his  cir- 
cumstances may  require,  and  his  services  deserve. 

^299.  BrooHi/n,  continued — churches. 

Brooklyn  has  been  honored  with  the  title  of  the 
"  City  of  Churches,"  a  name  to  which  it  was  formerly 
better  entitled  than  it  is  at  present.  Still  it  holds 
an  enviable  elevation  in  this  particular.  Most  of  the 
more  considerable  church  edifices  are  situated  on  or 
near  the  Heights — that  portion  of  the  city  lying 
to  the  west  of  Fulton-street.  Some  of  these  are  ele- 
gant and  costly  structures,  though  generally  they  are 
more  adapted  to  use  than  appearance.  The  First 
Presbyterian  church,  in  Henry-street,  is  a  plain  and 
substantial  edifice,  with  a  brown-stone  front,  and  a 
heavy  square  tower.  The  Church  of  the  Puritans, 
(Congregational,)  at  the  corner  of  Henry  and  Remsen- 
streets,  is  a  large  and  well-constructed  granite  edifice, 
in  the  Byzantine  order  of  architecture.  The  First 
Baptist  church,  in  Nassau-street,  is  a  commodious 
house  of  worship,  of  the  Norman  style.  The  Meth- 
odist churches  in  Sands-street  and  in  Washington- 
street  are  plain,  but  well-constructed  edifices,  of  the 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  289 

Doric  order ;  and  that  in  Clinton-street,  corner  of  Pa- 
cific, a  more  finished  specimen  of  the  Eomanesque 
order,  with  towers  at  both  front  angles.     The  Church 
of  the  Messiah,  in  Pierrepont-street,  (Unitarian,)  is  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  light  Gothic ;  the  Baptist  church, 
in  the  same  street,  of  the  modern  Gothic;  and  the 
Eeformed  Dutch  church,   a  beautiful  model  of  the 
Composite ;  and  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  in 
Clinton-street,  near  by,  probably  the  most  costly  edi- 
fice in  the  city,  built  of  dark-colored  freestone,  in  the 
pure  Gothic  style.      Christ  church,  in  South  Brook- 
lyn, Grace  church,  on  the  Heights,  and  St,  Anns,  in 
.Washington-street,  are  the  other  principal  churches 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  denomination.     The  Ply- 
mouth church,  (Congregational,)  in  Cranberry-street, 
is  a  plain  but  exceedingly  commodious  place  of  wor- 
ship, capable  of  seating  more  than  two  thousand  per- 
sons.    The  Second  Presbyterian  church,  on  Clinton- 
street,  near  Fulton,  is  a  noble  Doric  structure ;  and 
the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  near  the  City  Hall,  (be- 
longing to  the  oldest  ecclesiastical  body  in  Brooklyn,) 
is  an  almost  perfect  model  of  the  pure  Ionic,  with 
colonnades  at  both  its  fronts.     Besides  these,  there  are 
many  houses  of  worship,  of  various  degrees  of  elegance 
and  architectural  embellishment,  found  in  all  parts 
of  the  city,  and  new  ones  are  continually  springing 
up  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  rapidly-increasing 
population. 

^  300.    Williamshurgh. 

Directly  to  the  eastward  of  New -York  City,  just 
across  that  part  of  the  East  Eiver  which  extends 
northwardly  from  Wallabout  Bay,  and  immediately 


290  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

to  the  north-east  of  Brooklyn,  is  the  city  of  Williams- 
burgh.  The  site  of  that  town  was  a  portion  of  Bush- 
wick  till  the  year  1840,  when  it  was  cut  off  and  in- 
corporated as  a  distinct  township.  The  growth  of 
New -York,  by  which  the  city  was  brought  to  press 
hard  down  upon  the  East  Kiver,  opposite  to  the  shore 
of  Bushwick,  had  so  much  increased  the  importance 
of  this  locality,  as  to  demand  for  it  a  separate  and 
independent  political  organization.  As  early  as  1817 
a  ferry  was  established  from  that  shore  to  New -York, 
but  it  was  not  till  ten  years  later  that  a  village  be- 
gan to  show  itself  in  this  part.  Within  the  past 
twenty  years,  however,  its  growth  has  been  very  great. 
In  1835  a  new  village  charter  was  granted,  enlarging 
somewhat  its  territory,  and  adapting  the  powers  of 
the  government  to  the  increased  magnitude  of  the 
place.  By  this  charter  the  affairs  of  this  rapidly-grow- 
ing village  were  conducted  for  sixteen  years,  till,  in 
1851,  it  passed  out  of  its  minority,  and  assumed  the 
title  of  a  city. 

Among  the  principal  causes  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
this  suburb  has  been  the  superior  system  of  ferriage 
established  between  it  and  New -York.  From  Grand- 
street,  Houston-street,  and  Peck-slip,  in  New -York, 
large,  safe,  and  commodious  steam  ferry-boats  run  at 
very  short  intervals ;  so  that  a  residence  in  this  suburb 
is  but  little,  if  at  all,  less  convenient  of  access  to  the 
business  of  New -York  than  it  would  be  were  the  city 
of  Williamsburgh  a  portion  of  Manhattan  Island. 
In  1850  its  population  was  a  little  more  than  thirty- 
six  thousand. 

The  plan  of  Williamsburgh  is  laid  out  on  a  scale 
corresponding  to  the  manifest  destiny  of  the  place  to 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  291 

become  a  great  city.  The  whole  ground-plot  is  brought 
into  a  common  sy^em  of  streets  and  avenues.  Begin- 
ning at  the  water-side,  streets  running  parallel  with 
the  shore,  and  with  each  other,  extend  from  south- 
west to  north-east  across  the  entire  township.  Across 
these,  running  back  into  the  country,  is  the  great 
leading  avenue,  called  Grand-street.  On  either  side 
of  this  are  other  streets  parallel  Avith  it,  cutting  the 
streets  that  run  along  the  river  nearly  at  right  angles. 
But  the  plan  of  the  city  is  not  forced  into  a  perfect 
system  of  rectangular  blocks,  but  conformed,  in  some 
degree,  to  the  ground-plot,  and  adapted  to  the  natural 
currents  of  travel,  thus  securing  at  once  an  agreeable 
variety,  and  much  greater  convenience  than  could  be 
obtained  by  a  more  rigid  exactness. 

Williamsburgh  is  almost  exclusively  a  city  of  res- 
idences. Along  the  water-side  are  several  large  ship- 
yards, and  there  are  also  in  different  parts  a  number 
of  very  considerable  manufacturing  establishments. 
But  much  the  greater  portion  of  its  population  are 
engaged  in  business  connected  with  the  city  of  New- 
York.  There  are  no  public  buildings  of  any  import- 
ance in  the  city  except  its  churches,  and  none  of  these 
are  such  as  to  require  any  special  notice.  The  houses 
of  the  residents  are  generally  well  built  and  commo- 
dious, and  some  of  them  elegant,  though,  for  the  most 
part,  the  population  consists  of  the  sterling  middle 
classes.  The  rapid  progress  that  this  outpost  of  New- 
York  is  making  will  doubtless  demand  for  it  much 
attention  in  the  future  annals  of  the  great  metropolis. 

13^ 


292  CITY   Ui'   NEW- YORK. 

§  301.    Villages  on  Manhattcyii  Island. 

On  the  upper  part  of  the  island,  in  the  Twelfth- 
ward  of  the  city  of  New -York,  are  several  villages 
that  properly  belong  to  the  environs  of  the  city.  Of 
these,  Harlem,  situated  at  the  head  of  the  Third- 
avenue,  about  eight  miles  from  the  City  Hall,  and 
near  the  junction  of  the  Harlem  with  the  East 
Eiver,  is  the  oldest  and  most  considerable.  Its  foun- 
dation dates  back  to  the  earliest  davs  of  the  settle- 
ment  of  this  island,  when  a  number  of  Dutch  families 
established  themselves  in  this  place,  and  gave  to  it 
the  name  of  one  of  the  cities  of  their  own  loved 
Netherlands.  Thouo-h  a  verv  old  settlement,  Harlem 
has  advanced  but  slowly,  and  is  still  only  an  incon- 
siderable settlement,  and  with  but  very  few  of  the  ap- 
pliances necessary  to  give  it  a  vigorous  vitality. 

Two  miles  below  Harlem,  on  the  same  avenue,  is 
Yorkville,  a  straggling  village  of  no  great  import- 
ance. On  the  west  side  of  the  island,  nearly  due  west 
from  Harlem,  is  Manhattan ville,  another  suburban 
village,  which  is  also  increased  and  strengthened  by 
its  manufactories.  A  mile  and  a  half  farther  down, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  was  formerly  the  ancient 
village  of  Bloomingdale,  now  broken  up  by  the  ap- 
proach of  the  city  proper ;  and  a  mile  lower  was 
Chelsea,  now  completely  lost  in  the  capacious  mass 
of  the  great  metropolis.  None  of  these  rural  locali- 
ties of  New -York  possess  any  great  interest  as  inde- 
pendent villages. 


ENVIRONS  OF  NKW-YORK.  293 

§  302.    West  shore  of  the  Hudson. 

Beyond  the  Hudson  Eiver  the  growth  of  New -York 
is  beginning  to  be  decidedly  felt.  Jersey  City,  occu- 
pying the  ground-plot  of  Paulus  Hook,  and  extending 
to  the  ancient  colonies  of  Pavonia  and  Communipaw, 
has  sprung  up  within  a  few  years,  and  is  now  an  in- 
corporated city,  and  is  increasing  at  the  usual  rate  of 
New -York  progress.  To  the  north  of  this,  along  the 
hills  of  Bergen,  is  Hoboken,  long  celebrated  as  a 
suburban  pleasure-ground,  but  now  becoming  a  thick- 
ly settled  embryo  city.  Beyond  this  is  Weehawken, 
chiefly  celebrated  as  the  scene  of  the  slaughter  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  by  which  sad  eyent  a  glorious 
career  was  terminated  ingloriously,  and  a  most  yalu- 
able  son  of  New -York  sacrificed  to  the  bloody  code 
of  honor,  by  the  hands  of  one  who  was  neyer  worthy 
of  his  attention.  Still  farther  upward  are  Fort  Lee, — 
now  becoming  a  considerable  settlement, — and  the  be- 
a'innino;  of  the  Palisades,  whose  admantine  walls  and 
towers  alone  resist  the  rushiug  changes  that  come  on 
with  the  floods  of  growing  years.  Toward  the  south, 
Elizabethtown  is  growing  into  importance,  by  reason 
of  its  proxmity  to  New -York;  and  Newark,  by  the 
same  influence,  is  quickening  its  pace  toward  great- 
ness ;  and  eyen  New-Brunswick  feels  the  influence  of 
the  growing  tide  of  prosperity  that  has  its  fountain 
in  the  Empire  City.  Staten  Island  is,  to  a  great  de- 
gree, an  outpost  of  New -York ;  but  as  it  is  chiefly  oc- 
cupied by  the  quarantine  establishments,  and  seyeral 
marine  asylums  and  hospitals,  its  growth  in  wealth 
and  population  has  not  kept  pace  with  other  places 
equally  contiguous  to  the  city. 


294  CITY   OF   NEW-YORK. 

^  303.   Fortifications  about  New  -York. 

In  enumerating  the  objects  of  interest  about  the 
city  of  New -York,  its  fortifications  and  means  of  de- 
fense should  not  be  omitted.  All  the  approaches  to 
the  city  from  without  are  strongly  defended.  At  the 
Narrows  is  Fort  Hamilton,  on  Long  Island,  covering 
Fort  Lafayette,  which  is  built  on  a  reef  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  shore.  Both  of  these  are  large  and  in- 
vulnerable fortresses,  fully  armed  for  effective  service. 
Upon  Staten  Island  are  Forts  Tompkins  and  Richmond, 
the  former  situated  on  the  high  grounds  of  the  island, 
and  the  latter  at  the  water-side  below  it.  In  the  in- 
terior harbor.  Governor's,  Ellis's,  and  Bedlow's  Islands, 
are  all  strongly  fortified.  Of  the  first-named,  the 
north-west  angle  is  occupied  by  Castle  Williams,  a 
large  circular  battery,  which  is  connected  by  a  sub- 
terranean passage  with  Fort  Columbus,  in  the  center 
of  the  island.  Another  battery  also  guards  Butter- 
milk Channel,  which  separates  this  from  Long  Island. 
The  Navy-yard  presents  a  strong  point  of  defense  on 
that  side  of  the  city,  as  well  as  serving  as  the  de- 
pository of  a  moveable  defense  for  every  other  part. 
At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  East  River,  twelve 
miles  beyond  the  southern  point  of  the  city,  is 
Fort  Schuyler,  on  Throggs  Neck,  guarding  the  en- 
trance to  the  harbor  in  that  direction.  With  these 
defenses,  it  is  believed  that  New -York  is  as  effectu- 
ally protected  against  the  approach  of  an  invading 
force  as  is  compatible  with  the  present  state  of  the 
arts  of  attack  and  defense. 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  295 

§  304.   Cemeteries. 

Any  survey  of  the  environs  of  New -York  that  should 
not  notice  its  cemeteries  would  be  essentially  defec- 
tive. These,  however,  are  all  of  recent  date,  the  old- 
est being  but  little  more  than  ten  years  old  ;  they 
may  therefore  be  considered  as  yet  in  their  infancy. 
Previous  to  their  existence  the  disposal  of  the  remains 
of  the  departed  was  a  matter  of  much  embarrassment, 
and  the  cause  of  painful  solicitude.  Many  of  the 
churches  had  burial-places  connected  with  them,  and 
often  spacious  vaults  were  excavated  under  them  for 
the  reception  of  the  dead.  Attached  to  Trinity  church 
was  a  spacious  burying-ground,  in  which  several  gen- 
erations of  the  principal  inhabitants  were  interred ; 
another  of  like  character  was  attached  to  St.  Paul's 
chapel.  These  two  cemeteries,  though  located  where 
the  price  of  ground  is  enormously  high,  have  been 
preserved  inviolate  against  all  the  onsets  and  allure- 
ments of  the  divinity  of  trade.  Not  so,  however,  with 
the  other  burial-places  that  during  all  the  stages  of 
the  city's  growth,  till  within  the  last  forty  years, 
fringed  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  These  have  suc- 
cessively yielded  to  the  advancing  tide  of  the  city's 
growth,  and  have  either  been  dug  down  and  their 
bones  sunken  in  deep  pits,  or,  where  the  grade  favored, 
the  surface  was  overlaid  with  earth,  and  the  dwellings 
of  the  living  erected  over  the  resting-place  of  the  dead. 
These  things  were  long  endured  as  of  necessity,  till 
the  establishment  of  rural  cemeteries,  at  a  distance 
from  the  city,  gave  the  wished-for  relief. 


J06  CITY   OF  NEW-YORK. 

i^  305.  Greei\wood — Us  location  and  extent. 

Amono'  tliese  rural  cemeteries  Greenwood  is  much 
the  most  considerable.  It  is  located  at  the  extreme 
southern  part  of  the  corporate  limits  of  Brooklyn,  on 
Gowanus  Heights,  nearly  three  miles  from  the  Fulton 
Ferry.  These  grounds  lie  on  the  route  traversed  by 
the  British  army  when  approaching  New -York  on  the 
26th  of  August,  1776  ;  and  within  the  limits  of  this 
spot,  now  consecrated  to  the  repose  of  the  dead,  oc- 
curred the  principal  conflict  of  that  disastrous  day.  A 
hiffh  historical  interest  is  thus  united  to  the  other  at- 
"traction  of  this  scene. 

The  whole  area  of  this  cemetery  amounts  to  over 
three  hundred  acres,  which  is  a  much  larger  extent 
than  is  found  in  any  similar  establishment  in  either 
America  or  Europe.  The  various  avenues  already 
completed  (exclusive  of  foot-paths)  have  an  aggregate 
length  of  about  fifteen  miles.  These  wind  in  every 
direction  through  valleys  and  along  hill-sides,  skirt- 
ing the  sylvan  lakes,  and  leading  through  miniature 
groves  of  ancient  forest-trees.  The  grounds  are  beau- 
tifully and  almost  endlessly  diversified  by  nature,  pre- 
senting an  infinite  variety  of  scenery,  and  distributing 
the  wdiole  area  into  hillocks  and  vales,  dells,  lawns, 
lakes,  and  glens.  The  more  elevated  parts  afford 
many  exceedingly  interesting  views.  On  the  west,  in 
full  view,  is  New -York  Bay,  the  most  perfect  land- 
and-water  scene  in  the  world  ;  toward  the  north  rise 
the  towers  and  domes  of  New  -York  and  Brooklyn  ; 
north-eastwardly  the  Sound,  dotted  with  islands,  is 
seen  far  in  the  distance  ;  while,  to  the  east  and  south, 
lie  the  green  fields  and  quiet  villages  of  Long  Island  ; 
and  beyond  these  the  distant  ocean. 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  297 

§  306.   Greenicood — its  history  and  progress. 

Greenwood  Cemetery  received  its  corporate  existence 
by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  New -York, 
dated  April  18,  1838.  Four  years  were  occupied  in 
the  preliminary  arrangements  of  the  association ;  so 
that  the  grounds  were  not  opened  for  interments  till 
1842.  Before  fixing  upon  a  site  for  their  operations, 
the  association  made  a  careful  and  thorough  survey 
of  the  entire  vicinity  of  New -York,  and  fixed  upon  this 
as  combining  more  real  advantages  than  any  other. 
The  original  purchase  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres,  which  has  been  increased  by  sub- 
sequent purchases  to  its  present  extent.  The  entire 
area  has  been  laid  out  into  lots,  and  is  traversed  by 
streets  and  avenues,  and,  by  a  careful  husbanding  of 
the  surplus  waters,  artificial  lakes  and  reservoirs  have 
been  formed.  Keepers'  lodges  and  towers  have  been 
built ;  two  large  receiving  vaults,  for  the  temporary 
deposit  of  the  dead,  have  been  constructed,  and  a  very 
great  number  of  private  tombs  and  vaults.  The  com- 
pany has  expended  in  regulating  and  ornamenting 
the'se  grounds  nearly  half  a  million  of  dollars  ;  while 
the  sums  expended  by  individuals  must  be  numbered 
by  hundreds  of  thousands,  or  by  millions.  About 
three  thousand  eight  hundred  lots  were  sold  previous 
to  the  1st  of  May,  1850,  at  which  time  the  aggregate  of 
interments  amounted  to  nine  thousand  seven  hundred. 
Most  of  the  lots  have  been  inclosed  by  substantial  iron 
fences,  and  upon  the  grave-stones  and  the  fronts  of 
tombs  are  many  excellent  specimens  of  sculpture  and 
beautiful  architectural  embellishments. 


298 


CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


^  307.   Trinity  Church  Cemetery. 

On  the  liigli  grounds  of  Manhattan  Island,  near  the 
village  of  Manhattanville,  and  upon  the  east  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  is  the  new  cemetery  of  Trinity  church. 
It  reaches  from  One-hundred-and-fiftv-third-street  to 
One-hundred-and-fifty-fifth-street,  and  from  the  Tenth- 
avenue  to  the  river.  From  this  point  may  be  had  a 
commanding  view  of  the  Hudson  Eiver,  the  Highlands, 
the  Jersey  shore,  the  cities  of  New-York,  Brooklyn, 
and  Williamsburgli,  the  East  Elver  and  Sound,  and 
of  Long  Island.  The  grounds  are  covered  with  a  fine 
growth  of  forest-trees,  and  beautifully  laid  out  in 
walks  and  avenues,  and  ornamented  with  shrubbery 
and  statuary.  The  whole  is  inclosed  by  a  secure  and 
durable  fence. 


§  308.   Other  rural  cemeteries. 

Besides  those  already  described,  other  cemeteries, 
based  on  the  same  general  principles,  have  been  estab- 
lished in  various  places  in  the  vicinity  of  New -York. 
Bockland  Cemetery,  containing  eighty  acres,  is  located 
at  Piermont,  on  the  New -York  and  Erie  Eailroad, 
about  twenty  miles  from  the  city.  New -York  Bay 
Cemetery  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  harbor,  to  the 
south  of  Jersey  city,  and  is  principally  used  by  the 
various  beneficiary  societies  of  New -York  and  its 
vicinity,  many  of  which  have  here  places  of  interment. 
About  three  miles  eastward  from  Brooklyn  is  the 
cemetery  of  the  Cypress  Hills ;  and  to  the  north  of 
tliis,  that  of  the  Evergreens.  Tliese  grounds  have 
been  but  recently  devoted-  to  their  new  purposes. 
They  embrace,  jointly,  about  three  hundred  acres  of 


ENVIRONS  OF  NEW-YORK.  299 

irregularly  undulating  liills  and  valleys,  mostly  cover- 
ed with  a  thick  growth  of  evergreens,  chiefly  cedars. 
From  some  of  the  highest  points  of  these  grounds 
may  also  be  obtained  extensive  views  of  the  surround- 
ing regions.  Comparatively  little  has  yet  been  done 
toward  the  regulation  of  these  cemeteries,  nor  is  it 
intended  that  they  shall  ever  rival  Greenwood  in 
splendor  and  magnificence — being  designed  for  a  less 
opulent  portion  of  society  than  are  these  who  bury 
their  dead  at  the  latter  place.  Thus  the  city  of  the 
living  is  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  dwelling- 
places  of  the  dead,  where  the  ephemeral  beings  that 
for  a  little  while  swell  the  mass  of  the  living  city 
will  soon  lie  down  in  these,  their  permanent  and  quiet 
resting-places. 


300  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  309.  Individuality   of  character. 

Some  modern  nations  pride  themselves  upon  their 
ability  to  trace  their  descent  from  some  ancient  tribes 
or  people,  whose  name  and  deeds  are  found  among 
the  records  of  former  times.  Even  some  of  the  older 
States  and  cities  in  this  republic  are  not  altogether 
destitute  of  this  ancestral  vanity.  New-England  boasts 
of  her  Puritan  fathers  ;  Virginia,  of  her  gallant  Cav- 
aliers ;  Maryland,  of  her  liberal-minded  Eoman- Cath- 
olic founders ;  and  Pennsylvania,  of  her  peaceful  but 
liberty-loving  Quaker  ancestry.  New -York  might 
fearlessly  enter  the  lists  with  these,  and  urge  the 
claims  of  her  Belgic  ancestors  to  equal  honors  with 
any  of  them ;  but  another  method  of  vindicatiou  is 
deemed  at  once  more  truthful,  and  better  adapted  to 
the  intended  purpose.  The  character  of  the  people 
of  New -York  is  not  an  im23orted  or  inherited  one ;  it 
is  a  home-production,  developed  from  the  assimilated 
elements  out  of  which  the  present  population  has  been 
derived.  The  distinct  identity  and  the  real  excellence 
of  this  native  character  constitute  the  true  glory  of 
the  people  of  our  city. 

^  310.    Original  elements. 

The  original  settlers  of  New-Netherland,  it  is  well 
kuown,  were  chiefly  natives  of  HoHand  ;  and  of  course 
the  settlement  was  originally  a  Dutch  colony,  having 
the  manners  and  customs,  the  language  and  religion, 


THE  PEOPLE  or  NEW-YORK.  301 

and  generally  all  the  social  institutions  of  the  father- 
land. But  from  the  beginning  the  Belgic  basis  of  the 
people  of  New-Amsterdam  was  diluted  and  mixed 
with  many  foreign  ingredients.  From  the  earliest 
times  the  colony  was  an  asylum  from  religious  perse- 
cution ;  so  that  large  numbers  of  refugees  of  almost 
every  name  and  creed,  both  from  Europe  and  the 
neighboring  colonies,  were  attracted  to  that  place. 
There  were  Jews  and  Anabaptists,  Quakers  and  Sab- 
batarians, and,  according  to  the  statement  of  Gover- 
nor Dongan,  "  some  of  almost  every  belief,  and  most 
of  none  at  all,'^  all  dwelling  together  in  perfect  equal- 
ity, and  consequently  in  peace  and  good  neighborhood. 
The  zeal  of  the  patroons  to  induce  immigrants  to  settle 
within  their  several  grants  led  them  to  offer  liberal 
terms  to  settlers,  and  to  disregard  national  distinc- 
tions and  theological  differences.  It  thus  happened 
that  these  infantile  settlements  were  often  composed 
of  the  most  diverse  materials  ;  the  only  point  of  coin- 
cidence being  that  all  should  be  householders,  and 
loyal  denizens  of  the  colony.  As,  in  the  golden  age 
of  the  commonwealth  of  Eome,  to  be  a  Eoman  citizen 
was  a  sufficient  title  fo  all  the  immunities  of  the  re- 
public, so  in  these  primitive  times  every  householder 
in  New-Netherland  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  citi- 
zenship. This  primary  social  element  has  given  its 
impress  to  the  whole  body ;  so  that  our  entire  social 
system  is  only  a  community  of  families. 

^  311.  The  Walloons. 

At  several  times  during  the  early  period  of  the  colo- 
nial existence  of  New-Netherland,  there  were  very 
considerable  accessions  of  aggregate  bodies  of  immi- 


302  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

grants  from  portions  of  Europe  other  than  Holland. 
Among  the  earliest  of  these  were  a  hody  of  Walloons, 
a  fragment  of  an  ancient  race  residing  on  the  fron- 
tiers between  France  and  Flanders,  speaking  the  old 
Gallic  language,  and  professing  the  Eeformed  religion. 
During  the  famous  "  Thirty  Years'  War,"  they  were 
distinguished  for  valor  and  indomitable  prowess  ;  but 
the  events  of  wa^,  in  which  destiny  rather  than  skill 
and  might  seems  to  prevail,  were  against  them.  De- 
termining, therefore,  to  preserve  their  liberties,  though 
at  the  expense  of  their  country,  they  turned  their  eyes 
toward  America.  They  sought  to  be  admitted,  with 
their  social  and  civil  institutions,  to  the  colony  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  but  their  request  was  promptly  denied.  Turned 
aside  from  that  purpose,  they  came,  about  the  year 
1624,  to  seek  an  asylum  among  their  kindred  at  New- 
Netherland,  and  were  permitted  to  locate  themselves 
in  a  body  at  the  Wallabout,  (  Wahle  .bocht,)  or  "  Bay 
of  the  Strangers,'^  so  called  from  themselves,  on  Long 
Island,  and  within  the  present  corporate  limits  of  the 
city  of  Brooklyn.  Another  portion  of  them  passed  up 
the  Hudson,  and  established  themselves  at  the  colony 
of  Esopus.  Thus  a  new,  though  not  altogether  a 
foreign  element  was  introduced  into  the  colonial  pop- 
ulation. 

^  312.  Refugees  from  New-England. 

About  the  year  1642  a  colony  of  the  English  race 
came  from  New-England,  and  planted  themselves  be- 
side and  among  their  Belgic  predecessors  on  tlie  north- 
ern shore  of  Long  Island  Sound,  and  within  tlie  ac- 
knowledged limits  of  the  Dutch  possessions.  These 
were  a  band  of  religionists  who  had  followed  the  Pil- 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  303 

grim  train  to  America,  but  were  now  compelled,. on 
account  of  the  intolerance  of  the  ruling  powers  of 
New-England,  and  their  own  pertinacious  nonconfor- 
mity, to  remove  bejond  the  rigorous  dominion  of  the 
Puritans,  and  seek  a  refuge  under  a  less  exacting 
government.  They  accordingly  requested  the  privi- 
lege to  settle  within  the  limits  of  New-Xetherland, 
and  were  permitted  to  do  so,  having  lands  assigned 
them  for  their  habitation,  and  the  privileges  of  a  free 
manor,  and  the  unmolested  exercise  of  their  religion 
guarantied  to  them.  Soon  after,  the  little  colony  was 
strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Throggmorton  and  his 
associates,  who  had  been  expelled  from  Massachusetts 
with  Roger  Williams,  and  who  now  came  with  thirty- 
five  families,  and  were  located  at  the  place  ever  since 
called,  from  the  name  of  the  leader  of  this  exiled  band, 
Throgg's  Neck. 

In  the  same  year  the  Lady  Moody,  with  her  minor 
son.  Sir  Henry,  and  many  followers,  fleeing  from  New- 
England  for  the  same  cause,  came  to  New-Netherland 
and  planted  the  town  of  Gravezande  (Gravesend)  on 
Long  Island.  They  were  soon  followed  by  a  large 
number  of  New-England  families,  to  whom  lands  were 
granted  upon  their  enrolling  themselves  liegemen  of 
the  province.  So  completely  did  these  Anglo-Saxon 
immigrants  become  assimilated  to  the  common  char- 
acter, that  many  of  them  are  now  recognized  as  the 
principal  Dutch  families  found  in  that  neighborhood. 
But  this  assimilation  was  not  effected  at  once,  nor  was 
the  Anglo-Saxon  element  thus  introduced  ever  en- 
tirely lost.  The  influx  of  English  settlers  led,-  at  this 
early  period,  to  a  public  recognition  of  the  English 
language,  and  to  other  appropriate  modifications  of 


304  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

the  public  adnihiistration.  In  pursuance  of  tliis  lib- 
eral policy,  and  with  the  avowed  design  "  to  prevent 
the  disturbance  of  harmony  and  social  intercourse  by 
the  incoming  of  so  many  strangers  to  reside  here/' 
the  director-general  appointed  one  of  these  immi- 
grants English  Secretary  to  the  Council  of  New- 
Netherland. 

^  313.   Swedes  and  Finns  from  the  Delaware. 

The  conquest  of  the  Swedish  colony  on  the  Dela- 
ware, in  1665,  by  Governor  Stuyvesant,  led  to  the 
transfer  of  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  that 
colony  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  As  after  the  con- 
quest some  of  the  Swedes  refused  to  swear  allegiance 
to  their  conquerors,  the  valorous  Stuyvesant  "  picked 
out  the  flower  of  the  Swedish  troops,  and  sent  them, 
with  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  to  Manhattan. '* 
A  part  of  these  were  permitted  to  remain  in  the  city, 
and  the  rest  sent  to  the  Walloons'  colony  at  Esopus. 
These  Scandinavians  brought  with  them  the  Lutheran 
faith  and  worship,  which  had  been  hitherto  unknown 
in  the  colony ;  and  although  their  language  was  soon 
lost,  and  even  their  family  names  a<;commodated  to 
the  more  favored  dialects,  these  Swedish  families  can 
still  be  traced  among  us,  and  they  plainly  demonstrate 
that  the  contribution  thus  made  to  the  population  of 
the  colony  was  far  from  being  an  unimportant  one. 

§  314.  Effects  of  the  English  conquest. 

The  conquest  of  the  entire  colony  of  New-Nether- 
land  by  the  English,  in  1668,  necessarily  made  great 
changes  in  the  condition,  and  ultimately  in  the  char- 
acter, of  the  people.     It  is  supposed  that  at  that  time 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  305 

nearly  one-lialf  of  the  whole  population  was  of  British 
extraction  ;  and  though  Dutch  manners  generally  pre- 
vailed, yet  were  these  greatly  moditied  by  so  large  an 
admixture  of  strangers.  With  the  new  government, 
English  manners  as  well  as  English  laws  came  into 
favor.  The  language  of  the  dominant  nation,  already 
spoken  by  one-half  of  the  people,  was  made  the  me- 
dium of  communication  in  all  public  affairs,  and  was 
therefore  cultivated  by  all  who  aspired  to  either  its 
advantages  or  its  respectability.  A  very  considerable 
influx  of  English  people  followed  immediately  after 
the  setting  up  of  the  new  order  of  things,  some  of 
them  as  actual  settlers,  and  others  as  public  function- 
aries, or  as  their  retainers  and  servants.  Many  of 
these  likewise  remained  permanently  in  the  province, 
and  were  by  degrees  incorporated  among  the  mass  of 
the  population. 

§  315.   The  Huguenots. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  large 
number  of  French  Protestants,  driven  from  their  own 
country  by  the  murderous  persecution  that  followed 
the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Jsantes,  sought  a  refuge 
in  the  province  of  Xew-York.  These  wretched  victims 
of  treachery  and  intolerance  were  cordially  welcomed 
to  this  asylum  of  the  persecuted,  where  they  settled 
and  became  established  as  denizens.  Thus  a  new  and 
verv  considerable  element  was  brouo;ht  into  the  social 
body.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that,  though  these 
refugees  from  persecution  were  Frenchmen,  they  were 
a  very  different  class  of  people  from  tliose  whom  we 
now  recognize  as  just  specimens  of  that  frivolous  and 
volatile  nation.      Thev  were  eminentlv  a  sober  and 


306  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

religious  people ;  and  more  than  this,  they  were  mar- 
tyrs for  religious  liberty ;  and  of  course  they  brought 
with  them  their  characteristic  earnestness  in  matters 
of  faith  and  duty.  As  to  secular  affairs,  they  were 
skillful  artisans,  industrious  and  temperate  in  their 
habits  of  life,  and  devotedly  attached  to  their  homes 
and  families.  Such  persons  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  highly  valuable  accessions  to  any  social  and  civil 
community,  and  especially  to  such  as  w^as  New -York  at 
that  period.  Some  of  these  settled  in  New -York,  and 
others  in  different  places  in  the  province,  where  they 
soon  became  quite  amalgamated  with  the  common 
mass,  and  by  their  own  habits  and  examples  contrib- 
uted much  to  the  improvement  of  the  social  charac- 
ter of  the  people. 

§  316.   German  and  Irish  refugees. 

A  few  years  later,  (in  1710,)  some  three  thousand 
Germans,  who  had  been  driven  by  the  storm  of  war 
out  of  the  Palatinate  and  had  taken  refuge  in  En- 
gland, were  sent  out  by  the  British  government  to 
New -York.  These  were  both  political  and  religious 
exiles,  and  of  course  they  brought  with  them  the  pe- 
culiarities of  opinion  that  had  caused  their  sufferings; 
and  as  men  usually  cherish  their  sentiments  most 
when  they  are  maintained  at  greatest  expense,  these 
exiles  were  zealous  advocates  of  political  and  religious 
liberty.  These  people  were  settled  along  the  Hudson 
and  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Mohawk ;  and  after- 
ward many  of  them  came  to  dwell  in  the  city,  and 
thus  cast  another  element  into  the  motley  mass. 

About  this  time  the  effects  of  the  English  revolu- 
tion, and  especially  the  defeat   of   the  Pretender  in 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  307 

Ireland,  caused  a  large  emigration  of  the  partisans  of 
the  vanquished  Stuarts  to  America.  These  were  from 
all  of  the  three  kingdoms,  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish, 
and  generally  of  a  somewhat  elevated  social  ^ade. 
These,  despairing  of  the  cause  of  their  legitimate 
prince,  came  now  to  spend  their  days  in  quiet  in  this 
universal  city  of  refuge,  where  their  dislike  of  the 
ruling  dynasty  of  Great  Britain  transformed  them 
into  violent  friends  of  individual  freedom. 

^  317.  State  of  the  population  in  1700. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
population  of  New -York  city  amounted  to  about  five 
thousand,  made  up,  as  has  been  shown,  of  the  most 
heterogeneous  materials.  Of  these,  the  original  Dutch 
was  still  the  largest  body,  although  much  inferior  to 
the  aggregate  of  all  the  others.  The  American  Dutch- 
man, too,  had  become,  through  a  variety  of  causes,  a 
very  different  kind  of  person  from  his  European  pro- 
totype. The  next  largest  class  was  the  motley  group 
of  natives  of  the  British  Islands,  and  their  descendants 
born  in  the  province ;  a  class  united  only  by  a  com- 
munity of  language,  and  of  relations  to  the  govern- 
ment. Next  to  these  in  numbers,  and  resemblino; 
them  in  many  particulars,  although  distinguished  by 
clearly-marked  traits  of  character,  were  the  immi- 
grants from  the  neighboring  colonies.  Among  these 
were  Puritans  and  separatists  from  theocratic  New- 
England,  those  laying  aside  their  exacting  intolerance, 
and  these  their  obtrusive  nonconformity ;  reduced  Cav- 
aliers and  emancipated  apprentices  from  Virginia,  for- 
getting here  the  artificial  barriers  that  had  formerly 
separated  them  ;  with  Quakers  from  Pennsylvania  and 

U 


308  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

New-Jersey,  and  refugee  servants  from  the  "West  In- 
dies. All  these,  with  the  Walloons,  Huguenots,  and 
Palatinates,  made  up  the  grotesque  mass  of  our  an- 
cestral population  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
Thus  huddled  together,  they  were  rather  the  elements 
out  of  which  society  was  to  be  made,  than  a  properly- 
consolidated  social  body. 

§  318.   The  colored  population. 

But  of  the  five  thousand  persons  found  in  the  city 
of  New -York  at  that  time,  not  less  than  a  full  sixth 
part  were  of  a  race  not  yet  spoken  of.  More  than 
eight  hundred  of  them  were  negroes,  originally  intro- 
duced as  slaves,  and  most  of  them  still  held  in  that 
degraded  condition.  The  great  disparity  of  physical 
character  between  them  and  the  whites,  as  well  as 
their  social  and  personal  degradation  as  a  class,  fixed 
an  impassable  gulf  between  them  and  the  other  classes 
of  the  community.  They  accordingly  constituted  a 
distinct  caste  in  society,  and  have  consequently  re- 
mained a  foreign  mass  in  the  social  body,  quite  inca- 
pable of  assimilating  with  it.  Within  the  last  half- 
century  the  relative  proportion  of  this  class  of  the 
population  has  declined  more  than  one  half;  and  al- 
though they  have  long  since  ceased  to  be  slaves,  and 
many  of  them  have  received  the  rudiments  of  a  plain 
education,  they  are  still  a  wholly-distinct  and  an  out- 
cast class  in  the  community. 

§  319.  Social  condition. 

Among  such  an  aggregation  of  the  crude  elements 
of  a  population,  the  local  manners  and  national  preju- 
dices of  each  class  would  necessarily  be  kept  some- 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  309 

what  under  restraint.  No  one  class  had  so  great  a 
preponderance  as  to  he  ahle  to  assimilate  all  the  rest 
to  its  own  character;  nor  were  the  various  elements 
of  character  found  among  the  several  classes  such  as 
could  be  harmonized  into  a  consistent  unity.  The 
necessity  of  some  common  medium  of  communication, 
aided  by  the  unrestrained  intercourse  of  all  classes 
and  nationalities,  led,  by  slow  degrees,  to  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  the  language  of  the  rulers  and  the  ruling 
race.  These  circumstances  have  given  to  New -York 
a  purer  English  dialect  than  can  be  found  in  most 
places  where  the  English  language  is  spoken ;  while 
the  few  provincialisms  that  are  mingled  with  it,  by 
their  peculiarities,  clearly  indicate  the  independent 
origin  of  the  prevailing  forms  of  speech.  In  like 
manner  the  prevailing  customs  and  usages  of  the 
people  were  such  as  sprung  up  among  themselves. 

The  colonists  of  New-Netherland,  and  the  immi- 
grants to  provincial  New -York,  came  to  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  not  to  propagate  a  theory  of  government, 
nor  to  realize  a  scheme  of  ecclesiastical  optimism. 
Most  of  them  came  as  individuals  and  heads  of  fami- 
lies, seeking  for  a  quiet  retreat  from  political  oppres- 
sion and  religious  persecution ;  and  of  course  they 
were  much  more  intent  on  enjoying  the  sweets  of  do- 
mestic tranquillity  than  on  establishing  a  hierarchy, 
or  founding  a  commonwealth.  We  accordingly  find 
the  early  inhabitants  of  the  province  dwelling  together 
as  groups  of  families  rather  than  as  a  closely-com- 
pacted community.  Driven  by  oppression  from  the 
lands  of  their  nativities,  they  had  learned  to  love  the 
home  of  their  exile  more  than  the  places  that  gave 
them  birth,  and  to  cherish  a  fraternal  interest  in  their 


310  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

companions  in  sorrow  and  consolation,  and  so  uncon- 
sciously to  assume  their  habits  and  manners.  Still, 
there  were  difterences  enouo-h  to  forbid  a  very  close 
intimacy,  so  that  each  one  was  compelled  to  seek  his 
chief  enjoyments  in  his  own  household.  Here  lay  the 
strength,  and  from  this  source  originated  that  sym- 
metry of  character  that  is  the  honest  boast  of  the 
genuine  New-Yorker.  At  the  same  time  a  commu- 
nity of  wants  and  interests  united  these  individuals 
in  common  feelings  and  efforts,  and  thus  elicited  an 
enlarged  public  spirit,  and  at  length  an  exalted  pa- 
triotism. 

§  320,  Religious  liberty. 

The  practice  of  freely  tolerating  all  Protestant 
sects  of  Christians  was  coeval  with  the  history  of  the 
city  and  province  of  Kew-York.  The  planting  of  the 
colony  was  not  originally  a  religious,  but  a  commer- 
cial enterprise.  The  first  settlers  brought  with  them 
the  prevailing  religious  notions  of  the  Low  Countries, 
not  wholly  excluding  the  intolerance  that  disgraces 
the  ecclesiastical  annals  of  Holland.  But  the  mer- 
chants of  Amsterdam  were  more  careful  as  to  their 
profits  than  for  the  maintenance  of  a  forced  orthodoxy  ; 
and,  as  in  their  own  city  free  toleration  prevailed,  so 
they  determined  it  should  be  in  New- Amsterdam,  in 
America.  Accordingly,  here  the  persecuted  non-con- 
formists of  almost  every  country  of  Europe  sought  and 
found  an  asylum,  and  "  freedom  to  worship  God.'' 
Here  the  Calvinist  and  the  Lutheran  sat  down  to- 
gether and  enjoyed  equal  privileges.  Here  tlie  arro- 
gant Episcopalian  and  tlie  stubborn  Presbyterian  were 
jcompelled  to  refrain  from  annoying  each  other.  Here 
Anabaptists   and  Quakers,  left  to  enjoy  their  own 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  311 

fancies,  ceased  to  be  fanatical,  and  became  rationally 
devout,  and  truly  valuable  members  of  society.  Here, 
too,  even  the  forlorn  Israelite,  despised  and  persecuted 
in  all  nations,  was  permitted  to  set  up  his  synagogue, 
and  to  worship  God  according  to  the  ancient  faith  and 
ritual  of  his  people.  While  yet  the  population  of  the 
city  amounted  to  less  than  ten  thousand,  there  were 
ten  different  places  of  public  worship,  belonging  to  and 
occupied  by  an  equal  number  of  distinct  sects,  each 
having  its  own  creed  and  formulary.  By  thus  living 
together  on  terms  of  equality,  the  members  of  these 
discordant  sects  learned  lessons  of  mutual  forbear- 
ance, and  by  degrees  substituted  a  genial  charity  for 
the  violence  of  religious  partisanship. 

It  is  not  to  be  concealed  that  durino;  the  entire 
colonial  period  of  the  history  of  New -York- the  liomish 
faith  was  proscribed,  and  its  worship  disallowed. 
But  this  was  a  matter  of  political  rather  than  of  re- 
ligious policy.  The  Church  of  Eome  was  a  great 
and  formidable  political  power,  endeavoring,  by  all 
the  machinations  of  its  complicated  but  powerful 
agencies,  to  subvert  every  state  and  kingdom  that 
would  not  yield  to  its  demands.  It  was  therefore 
in  self-defense  that  the  Protestant  States  of  Europe 
arrayed  themselves  against  the  Papacy,  and  disallow- 
ed its  emissaries,  the  priests,  to  dwell  within  their 
bounds.  It  was  not,  therefore,  religious  intolerance, 
but  political  vigilance,  that  shut  the  Papists  out  of 
New-York,  until,  under  the  influence  of  Protestant 
institutions,  the  political  body  became  so  thoroughly 
consolidated  that  it  no  longer  had  cause  to  fear  the 
presence  and  power  of  those  natural  enemies  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty. 


312  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

§  321.   Social  progress  during  the  eighteenth  century. 

During  the  greater  part  of  that  portion  of  the 
eighteenth  century  which  preceded  the  war  of  the 
Eevolution,  New -York  remained,  for  the  most  part, 
in  a  very  quiet  and  secluded  condition.     No  consider- 
able  accessions  of  immio-rants   occurred   later  than 
those  already  enumerated.     The  people  dwelt  quietly 
together  in  their  habitations,  and  the  population  was 
augmented  rather  by  the  natural  increase  of  families 
than  by  accessions  from  abroad.     During  the  second 
quarter  of  that  century  the  increase  of  numbers  was 
less  than  one  hundred  a  year,  or  about  one  per  cent, 
annually ;  a  ratio  less  than  the  ordinary  natural  in- 
crease of  families.     For  the  ensuing  twenty-five  years 
the  growth  of  population  was  much  greater  ;  but  the 
accessions  were  chiefly  from  other  portions  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  so  brought  no  new  elements  into  the  social 
body.     By  the  operation  of  these  causes  the  popula- 
tion of  New-York,  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution- 
ary struggle,   was   almost   exclusively  made  up  of 
natives  of  the  province,  whose  ancestors  also,  for  sev- 
eral generations,  had  been  residents  of  the  country. 
Thus,  though  descended  from  a  variety  of  the  families 
of  Europe,  the  people  of  New -York  had  become  con- 
solidated and  assimilated,  till  the  social  body  present- 
ed a  very  good  degree  of  individuality  of  character 
and  homogeneousness  of  structure. 

^  322.   The  New  -York  character. 

The  people  of  New -York,  while  bearing  the  com- 
mon features  of  the  American  character,  have  also  cer- 
tain specific  traits  of  mind,  that  sufficiently  distinguish 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  313 

them  as  a  well-defined  variety  of  the  common  genus. 
Though  these  characteristics  are  less  prominent  and 
ohtrusive  than  those  of  the  New-Englander,  or  the 
Virginian,  or  the  Kentuckian,  they  are  not  less  real  or 
worthy  of  attention.  The  influences  among  which  the 
crude  elements  of  the  social  mass  were  fused  into  a 
consistent  body,  at  the  same  time  determined  the 
future  character.  Those  determining;  influences  oris:- 
inated,  for  the  most  part,  at  the  fire-side  and  in  do- 
mestic life.  Men  who  had  come  hither  to  escape  the 
grasp  of  tyranny  were  satisfied  to  guard  their  own 
hearth-stones,  to  store  their  own  garners,  and  to  wor- 
ship God  "  under  their  own  vine  and  fio'-tree."  A 
community  educated  among  such  influences,  and  train- 
ed to  such  habits,  must  be  at  once  the  most  loyal  sub- 
jects of  good  government,  and  the  most  formidable 
enemies  to  tyranny.  This  has  ever  been  the  case  with 
the  people  of  New -York.  The  most  unlimited  equal- 
ity of  social  and  religious  privileges  is  cheerfully  con- 
ceded to  all,  while  any  encroachments  upon  individual 
liberty  are  jealously  detected  and  fearlessly  with- 
stood. 

The  tendency  of  such  a  condition  of  society  is  espe- 
cially to  develop  the  individual.  Each  citizen  is  a 
peer  of  the  realm  ;  each  household  an  inviolable  strong- 
hold of  freedom.  The  opinions  and  sentiments,  the 
pleasures  and  devotions  of  each  individual  are  all  his 
own,  with  which  the  government  has  no  right  nor 
power  to  interfere ;  and  he  fashions  them  according 
to  his  own  convictions,  tastes,  or  caprice^.  This  indi- 
viduality is  thus  made  the  predominating  condition, 
to  which  public  opinion  and  the  dicta  of  Church  or 
State  are  made  wholly  secondary.     The  body  politic 


314  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

and  social  is  thus  made  to  rest  on  the  divine  institu- 
tion of  the  family,  and  the  hearth-stone  becomes  the 
keystone  of  the  commonwealth  ;  by  which  means  the 
love  of  individual  freedom  is  cherished,  and  every 
motive  to  invade  the  rights  of  others  taken  away. 

§  323.  Influence  of  commerce. 

It  is  granted  that  the  same  tendencies  which  so 
effectually  develop  the  individual  character,  if    car- 
ried too  far,  will  render  the  man  rough  and  discourte- 
ous.    It  would  perhaps  be  claiming  too  mucli  for  the 
people  of  New -York  to  say  that  this  result  has  not 
in  any  degree  been  realized  among  them.     But  from 
the  beorinnina:  this  influence  has  been  checked  and 
modified  by  another  of  a  contrary  tendency.     New- 
York  has  always  been  a  seat  of  commerce,  and  its 
population    a   mercantile  people.     Commercial   rela- 
tions are  those  of  mutual  dependence,  which  neces- 
sarily induce  conciliatoriness,  and  tend  even  to  cring- 
ing.    Such  a  tendency  is  of  course  directly  opposed  to 
that  sturdy  independence  which  is  the  fundamental 
element  of  character  among  our  people  ;    a  virtue 
whose  excess  may  seem  a  fault.     In  itself  that  ten- 
dency is  confessed  to  be  an  evil  one,  since  it  induces  a 
sycophantic  manner,  and  substitutes  mercantile  for 
moral  considerations  in  the  estimate  of  things.     The 
influences  of  commerce  are  not  friendly  to  a  spirit  of 
personal  independence,  and  that  true  self-respect  by 
which  a  man  esteems  himself  none  the  worse  because 
he  wants  the  accidents  of  woaltli.    Gain  is  the  primary 
object  of  the  mere  mercljant's  aspirations,  to  which 
every  other  consideration   must  be  sacrificed.     AVith 
such  a  person  even  liberty  has  its  price,  and  the  de- 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW- YORK.  315 

mands  of  morality  and  religion  are  less  imperative 
than  those  of  trade.  These  influences  have  no  doubt 
somewhat  affected  the  character  of  our  people ;  in  some 
instances,  and  even  among  large  classes,  tending  to 
reduce  men  to  mere  money-changers,  and  devotees  of 
mammon  ;  but,  in  their  more  general  operations, 
counter-working  the  excessive  tendency  of  society  to 
a  stern  and  uncourtly  independence  of  character  and 
manners.  Probably  neither  individual  liberty  nor 
good  morals  could  be  maintained  in  a  purely-mer- 
cantile community;  but  the  tendencies  which,  opera- 
ting alone,  would  be  thus  ruinous,  may  become  avail- 
able for  good  in  modifying  opposite  tendencies.  These 
autaffonistic  influences  have  been  called  into  efficient 
exercise  among  us,  and,  by  their  conflict,  they  have 
elicited  a  genuine  independence  of  character,  softened 
and  subdued  by  social  influences. 

^  3-24.  Injiuence  of  the  state  of  learning. 

In  scarcely  any  other  of  the  American  colonies  were 
the  interests  of  education  so  long  and  so  generally 
neo'lected  as  in  New -York.  Founded  and  maintained 
for  commercial  purposes.  New- Amsterdam,  or  New- 
York,  was,  during  its  whole  colonial  existence,  very 
inadequately  supplied  with  the  facilities  for  public  in- 
struction. Of  necessity  the  native-born  children  grew 
up  without  learning ;  and  as,  in  the  progress  of  things; 
almost  the  entire  population  became  a  native  one,  a 
wide-spread  popular  ignorance  prevailed.  This  state 
of  things,  as  might  be  presumed,  did  not  fail  to  pro- 
duce a  degeneracy  of  the  public  morals  and  a  degra- 
dation of  the  popular  character.  There  was,  indeed, 
always  an  educated  class  in  the  community,  the  salu- 

14* 


316  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

tary  influence  of  whose  presence  may  "be  easily  recog- 
nized ;  but  they  were  too  far  removed  from  tlie  masses, 
as  to  both  their  associations  and  their  sympathies,  to 
exert  any  great  influence  over  them.     The  state  of 
learn  in  o',  of  manners,  and  of  morals,  was  not  what 
it  should  have  been,  during  the  whole  colonial  his- 
tory of  New-York.     But  these  evils  were  not  without 
their  incidental  benefits.     For  nearly  three  quarters 
of  a  century  the  little  communities  on  the  Hudson 
w^ere  left  to  consolidate  their  heterogeneous  materials 
of  thoughts  and  ideas,  as  well  as  of  persons,  in  a  state 
of  almost  complete  isolation.     Very  few  and  scanty 
contributions  to  their  intellectual  stores  were  derived 
from  foreign  sources.     A  third  generation,  since  the 
last  general  immigration,  was  born  and  reared  among 
the  homely  scenes  and  home-born  influences  of  these 
isolated  settlements,  and  of  course  the  w^hole  commu- 
nity became  consolidated  into  a  proper  unity  of  ideas 
and  sentiments,  action    and  character.     While  thus 
separated  from  both  the  social  and  intellectual  influ- 
ences of  other  people,  the  crude  elements  of  our  native 
population,  by  its  internal  fermentations,  gave  being 
to  the  New -York  character.    That  character,  enlight- 
ened and  educated,  is  the  same  that  is  now  the  honest 
pride  of  the  genuine  New-Yorker. 

^  325.  Distinctive  characteristics. 

Writers  on  America  and  the  Americans  have  espe- 
cially distinguished  two  great  classes  of  our  popula- 
tion, the  Puritanic  and  the  Cavalier,  or,  the  New-En- 
P'landers  and  the  Yiri>inians  ;  and  some  have  vainly 
attempted  to  reduce  the  whole  American  people  to 
these  two  classes.     Nor  is  it  wonderful  that  suj)erflcial 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  317 

observers  should  recognize  these  and  overlook  others. 
The  real  individuality  of  these  characters  is  manifest ; 
they  belong  to  numerous  bodies,  having  a  traditional 
celebrity,  and  the  features  that  distinguish  them  are 
prominent  and  well-defined.  Their  very  deformities 
render  them  more  easy  to  be  recognized,  and  their 
want  of  symmetry  gives  a  distinctiveness  to  their  in- 
dividuality. It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the 
Puritan  and  Cavalier  are  recognized  by  some  who  fail 
to  perceive  or  to  identify  the  Knickerbocker.  But'  a 
more  careful  and  discriminating  observation  would 
not  fail  to  discover  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Empire 
City  are  not  a  mere  mongrel  race,  without  individu- 
ality of  character  and  proper  distinctive  social  traits. 
Though  less  sharply  defined  than  some  others,  and 
too  symmetrically  formed  to  be  distinguished  by  some 
prominent  feature  of  character,  as  well  as  without  the 
prestige  of  ancestral  fame,  the  New -York  character  is 
not  only  a  specific  reality,  but  also,  as  such,  it  is  marked 
by  characteristics  of  which  none  need  be  ashamed. 

§  326.    The  Yankee  and  the  Knicherhocher. 

Between  the  Xew-Englander  and  the  New-Yorker — 
the  Yankee  and  the  Knickerbocker — there  are  clearly- 
marked  differences  of  character,  arising,  doubtless, 
from  facts  and  circumstances  connected  with  the  colo- 
nial history  of  each  people.  New-England  was  settled 
by  organized  bodies  ;  New -York  by  individuals.  Com- 
munity of  religious  opinions  and  observances  was  the 
bond  of  union  among  the  Puritan  colonists ;  so  that 
opinion  was  legalized,  and  dissent  or  non-conformity 
became  an  offense.  Thus  individual  opinion  was 
merged  into  associated  opinion,  and  the  man  appeared 


318  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

as  a  member  of  the  associated  body  rather  than  as  a 
complete  and  responsible  individuality.  How  entirely 
different  was  the  state  of  things  in  colonial  Xew-York 
has  been  already  shown,  in  connection  with  the  natu- 
ral results  of  these  influences.  The  effects  of  these 
original  differences  are  now  rendered  imperishable  by 
being  incorporated  into  the  provincialist  traits  of  char- 
acter. In  New-England  the  consolidation  of  society 
has,  to  a  great  degree,  destroyed  proper  individuality 
arid  independence  of  character ;  while  in  New -York  the 
social  mass  is  but  an  aggregation  of  persons,  each 
complete  in  his  own  individual  integrity. 

The  same  causes  have  given  form  to  the  intellectual 
character  of  the  two  sub-nationalities.  New*-England 
enjoyed  great  intellectual  advantages  over  her  west- 
ern neighbors  from  the  beginning  of  her  existence ; 
nor  has  the  rapid  progress  of  the  latter,  during  the 
present  century,  sufficed  to  overcome  their  relative 
disadvantages.  The  inhabitants  of  New-England  are 
still  a  more  learned  people  than  those  of  New -York. 
But  there  is  a  plain  difference  between  learning  and 
eduication;  and  while  we  concede  a  superiority  as  to 
the  former  to  our  eastern  neighbors,  we  question  their 
title  to  even  equality  as  to  the  latter.  An  accumu- 
lation of  facts  and  ideas  may  be  made  under  the  re- 
straints of  an  artificial  discipline,  and  with  a  stinted 
mental  development ;  but  that  education  which  justly 
forms  the  character  requires  tliat  the  mind  shall  be 
free  in  its  exercise,  and  unconstrained  in  its  processes 
and  determinations.  The  tyranny  of  conventionalism 
has  unquestionably  operated  unfavorably  upon  the  New- 
England  character,  as  compared  with  the  breadth  and 
freedom  that  distinguish  that  of  the  New-Yorker. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  NEW-YORK.  319 

§  327.  The  Neto -Yorker  and  the  Virginian. 

The  character  of  the  Virginian  differs  still  more 
widely  from  that  of  the  New-Yorker.  The  name  by 
which  that  character  is  desis^nated — Cavalier — siifR- 
ciently  describes  him.  He  is  brave,  haughty,  and 
reckless.  Such  a  character  can  be  maintained  only 
in  an  artificial  and  constrained  state  of  society;  and 
where  it  is  found  it  must  belong,  not  to  the  whole 
community,  but  only  to  a  privileged  class.  Persons 
thus  circumstantially  elevated  may  be  compelled  to  a 
kind  of  self-respect  by  their  condition,  but  self-respect 
thus  caused  is  not  genuine.  It  is  not  in  view  of  his  own 
manhood  that  such  an  one  is  led  to  abhor  whatever  is 
low  or  base,  but  only  in  respect  to  his  circumstances. 
Strip  him  of  these  accidents  of  family  and  kindred,  of 
wealth  and  position,  and  the  Cavalier  is  fallen.  This 
habitual  reliance  on  accidents  is  greatly  unfriendly  to 
individual  development  and  personal  elevation.  These 
statements,  as  to  both  the  facts  and  the  theory  of  the 
case,  are  abundantly  attested  by  the  desolation  that 
broods  over  the  once  fertile  fieldsf  of  the  Old  Dominion, 
as  compared  with  the  ever-increasing  fertility  of  the  Em- 
pire State ;  and  especially  by  the  diminutiveness  and  di- 
lapidation of  the  chief  sea-port  town  of  the  former,  com- 
pared with  the  thrift  and  progress  of  that  of  the  latter. 

The  Virginian  attains  his  social  position  and  main- 
tains his  character  by  means  of  his  circumstances ; 
the  New-Yorker  accomplishes  the  same  end  by  his 
own  inherent  energies,  and,  if  necessary,  in  spite  of 
his  circumstances.  Though  favored  by  none  of  the 
accidents  of  life,  he  asserts  his  own  manhood,  and  asks 
no  other  title  to  respectability,  nor  will  he  permit  any 
man  to  become  his  patron.     Respecting  hitnself  as  a 


320  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

r 

man,  he  cannot  be  mean,  though  he  may  be  poor ;  and 
recognizing  the  same  manhood  in  others,  he  cannot 
be  arrogant,  however  far  above  them  in  merely  exter- 
nal things. 

^  328.  Assimilating  power. 

Such  are  the  people  of  New -York,  the  denizens  of 
the  Empire  City  and  of  the  Empire  State.  They  com- 
pose an  illustrious  sub-species  of  the  great  American 
family,  instinct  with  energy,  and  gifted  with  an  almost 
unlimited  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  endowed  with  the 
most  exalted  attributes  of  humanity.  A  native  race, 
derived  from  no  ancestral  prototype,  and  copying  ser- 
vilely no  exemplar,  they  must  attain  to  a  more  glori- 
ous destiny  than  has  yet  been  achieved  among  man- 
kind. The  name  assumed  and  conceded  by  common 
consent  shall  be  abundantly  justified  alike  in  the  maU- 
riel  and  the  personnel  of  the  Empire  City.  This  native 
energy  of  the  New -York  character  also  displays  itself 
in  its  power  to  assimilate  other  forms  to  itself.  From 
whatever  point  the  denizen  of  that  city  may  have 
come,  a  residence  in  New -York  surely  and  speedily 
makes  him  a  New-Yorker.  The  eastern,  the  south- 
ern, the  western  man  soon  loses  his  peculiarities,  and 
becomes  like  his  neighbors.  The  plastic  Hibernian 
forgets  that  he  is  an  exile ;  and  even  the  implastic 
Teutons  insensibly  yield  to  the  impalpable  but  irre- 
sistible influences  that  surround  them.  Thus  are  our 
immigrant  population  transformed,  in  character  as 
well  as  in  political  rights,  into  genuine  Americans, 
and  New -York  energy  acts  as  a  solvent  to  fuse  the 
motley  masses  that  Europe  is  pouring  upon  our  shores 
into  a  consistent  body  of  valuable  and  happy  freemen. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW- YORK.  321 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK. 
§  329.  Basis  of  estimate. 

The  past  and  present  are  the  only  reliable  interpret- 
ers of  the  future.  By  these  alone  would  we  attempt 
to  estimate  what,  it  may  be  presumed,  will  be  realized 
in  the  coming  events  of  the  city  of  New -York.  Its 
past  career  is  suggestive  of  such  estimates,  and  the 
effects  produced  by  causes  still  in  active  operation 
carry  the  mind  forward  to  the  probabilities  of  the 
future.  Nor  need  the  whole  of  the  past  history  of 
New -York  be  consulted  in  making  calculations  as  to 
its  future  condition,  but  only  that  portion  of  it  which 
has  been  governed  by  causes  still  in  operation.  New- 
York,  as  to  its  present  character,  and  the  causes  of  its 
prosperity,  is  only  about  a  hundred  years  old.  It  was 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  that  its  popu- 
lation assumed  a  proper  unity  and  individuality  of 
character ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  course  of  busi- 
ness pursuits  and  the  spirit  of  self-reliance  that  con- 
tinue to  distinguish  the  place  and  the  people  became 
pretty  fully  settled.  From  that  time  the  progress  of 
the  city  has  been  steady  and  uniform,  increasing  in 
population  and  in  its  resources  in  a  constant  geomet- 
rical ratio. 

§  330.  Growth  of  the  past  century. 

In  1756  the  population  of  the  city  had  attained  to 
about  ten  thousand.  During  the  former  portion  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  growth  of  the  city  had 


322 


CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


been  very  inconsiderable — even  less  than  the  usual 
natural  increase  of  the  population.  From  that  time 
to  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary  struggle  the 
groAvth  was  much  more  rapid ;  so  that  in  1773  tbe 
number  of  the  inhabitants  was  nearly  twenty-two 
thousand.  The  war  of  course  put  an  end  to  this  pros- 
perity ;  and  thoug^i  the  return  of  peace 'restored  a 
large  portion  of  the  refugee  families,  and  also  made 
large  additions  to  their  numbers,  yet,  in  1786,  there 
were  oiUy  two  thousand  more  than  there  were  thirteen 
years  before.  When  the  first  federal  census  was  taken, 
in  1790,  the  population  of  the  city  was  found  to  be  a 
little  over  thirty-three  thousand.  The  subsequent 
growth  of  the  city  is  shown  in  the  following  table : — 


Years. 

Population. 

Increase. 

Rate  of  Increase. 

1790 

33,131 
60,489 

1800 

27,358 

82.54  per  cent. 

1810 

96,373 

35,884 

59.65 

1820 

123,706 

27,333 

28.63 

1830 

202,589 

78,883 

63.68 

1840 

312,852 

110,263 

54.42 

1850 

515,507 

203,655 

-• 

65.09 

§  331.  Ratio  of  increase. 

By  examining  the  above  table  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  average  rate  of  increase,  for  each  term  of  ten  years, 
was  not  far  from  sixty  per  cent.  This  rate  of  increase, 
however,  has  varied  very  considerably  from  a  strict 
uniformity  at  different  times ;  some  of  which  varia- 
tions may  be  easily  referred  to  obvious  accidental 
causes,  others  may  require  a  more  careful  scrutiny. 
Immediately  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  New- 
York  was  looked  to  as  the  natural  and  prospective 
seat  of  the  new  national  government.     Toward  this 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  323 

placQ,  therefore,  all  eyes  were  turned,  and  in  antici- 
pation of  its  future  glory,  as  the  prospective  federal 
city,  many  made  it  the  place  of  their  residence.  There, 
too,  the  newly-awakened  commercial  interest  of  the 
country  soon  began  to  concentrate,  and  thence  to  send 
out  its  fleets  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  demand 
for  the  mechanic  arts  was  thus  increased,  and  a  greater 
number  of  artisans  employed,  by  which  means  the  pop- 
ulation was  still  further  augmented.  By  the  opera- 
tion of  these  causes  the  number  of  inhabitants,  whicli 
at  the  end  of  the  war  did  not  exceed  twenty  thousand, 
in  1800  had  grown  to  sixty  thousand.  The  next  pe- 
riod of  ten  years  was  one  of  unabated  increase,  though 
the  relative  augmentation  was  not  so  considerable. 

The  decade  extending  from  1810  to  1820  shows  a 
relative  increase  of  less  than  one-half  of  the  common 
ratio ;  but  the  cause  of  this  is  obvious.  For  a  great 
part  of  that  period  the  commerce  of  the  city  was  al- 
most completely  annihilated  by  the  operation  of  po- 
litical causes.  For  about  three  years  the  country  was 
enffao-ed  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  which  so  disas- 
trously  affected  the  business  of  Xew-York,  that  instead 
of  the  usual  increase  there  was  an  actual  diminution 
of  inhabitants.  The  accelerated  rate  of  increase  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  may  require  a  fuller  discussion 
in  another  place. 

The  increase  indicated  in  the  table  fails  ade- 
quately to  set  forth  the  real  progress  of  the  city  dur- 
ing the  last  twenty  years.  Until  about  the  beginning 
of  that  period  the  aggregation  of  people  and  dwell- 
ings, that  make  up  the  real  city  of  New -York,  was 
wholly  contained  within  the  limits  of  its  municipal 
territory.    But  since  that  time  the  city  has  overflowed 


324  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

those  limits,  so  tliat  the  political  city  is  not  identical 
with  the  real  one.  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburgh  are, 
to  all  practical  purposes,  and  by  their  common  rela- 
tion to  its  individuality,  integral  portions  of  the  city 
of  New -York.  In  1830  the  aggregate  population  of 
these  two  villages  was  a  little  more  than  sixteen  thou- 
sand ;  in  1840  it  had  increased  to  forty-one  thousand; 
and  in  1850  there  were  found  over  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand.  If  then  these  places,  now  grown 
to  be  large  cities,  be  reckoned,  as  they  really  are,  por- 
tions of  New -York,  its  increase,  especially  during  the 
last  decade,  will  be  very  considerably  augmented,  and 
the  ratio,  as  compared  with  the  population  ten  years 
before,  will  be  almost  two  to  one. 

§  332.  Ratio  for  the  future. 

It  would  be  an  easy  task  for  a  mere  school-boy  to 
estimate  what  will  be  the  growth  of  the  city,  if  it  may 
be  presumed  that  the  same  rate  of  progress  that  has 
continued  with  a  good  degree  of  uniformity  for  sixty 
years,  will  be  maintained  for  the  remaining  portion 
of  the  present  century.  The  whole  matter  may  be 
readily  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  mathematical  propo- 
sition. Beckoning  the  population  of  "the  city  in  1790 
at  thirty-three  thousand,  and  dividing  the  period  from 
that  time  to  1895  into  portions  of  fifteen  years  each, 
and  allowing  the  increase  for  each  of  these  portions 
to  be  binary,  we.  have  a  regular  geometrical  series  of 
seven  terms — of  which  four  arc  already  past,  anc 
three  yet  to  come.  Those  already  past  conform  with 
remarkable  exactness  to  the  requirements  of  the  pro}>- 
osition  ;  but  those  to  come  would  carry  the  calculation 
into  a  region  quite  beyond  the  imaginings  of  the  most 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK. 


325 


sanguine.  As  a  matter  of  curiosity,  and  to  indicate 
the  tendency  of  things,  the  whole  matter  is  spread  out 
in  the  annexed  table : — 


Years. 

Terms. 

Actual 
numbers. 

Brooklyn  and 

Williamsburgh. 

1790 
1805 
1820 
1835 
1850 
1865 
1880 
1895 

33,000 

66,000 

132,000 

264,000 

528,000 

1,056,000 

2,112,0(X» 

4,224,000 

33,131 

75,570 
123,706 
270,089 
515,507 

■•••.*••• 

est.  27,627 
127,627 

— i . 

§  333.  Accidental  modifications. 

In  the  above  table  eight  different  periods,  with  the 
population  at  each,  are  presented  ;  there  are,  however, 
but  seven  terms  of  increase  given.  Of  these  four  are 
already  past,  and  we  have  their  results.  The  first 
slightly  exceeded  the  assumed  ratio ;  the  second  fell 
short  by  a  few  thousands,  though  it  covered  the  dis- 
astrous period  of  the  embargo  and  the  war  with  Great 
Britain ;  the  third  goes  over  the  assumed  ratio,  but  falls 
so  nearly  into  it  as  to  require  very  little  qualification  ; 
the  fourth,  ending  in  1850,  if  only  the  city  of  New- 
York,  according  to  its  political  limits,  is  included,  falls 
a  little  below  it,  but  if  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburgh 
are  included,  and  all  other  real  suburbs  rejected,  the 
excess  is  seen  to  be  nearly  a  hundred  thousand,  |nd 
the  actual  ratio  of  increase  nearly  a  hundred  per  cent, 
for  the  ten  years.  Following  the  same  rule  of  increase 
into  the  future,  in  1865  Ve  shall  have  over  a  million ; 
in  1880,  two  millions  ;  and  in  1900,  over  five  millions. 
To  expect  the  realization  of  all  this  would  perhaps 
seem  over-sanguine ;  the  same,  too,  would  have  been 


326 


CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


said,  if,  sixty  years  since,  any  one  had  predicted  that 
which  we  now  record  as  history.  In  reckonings  of 
this  character  we  are  compelled  to  disregard  prece- 
dents and  analogies,  for  the  past  affords  none  that  can 
be  properly  applied  to  the  case ;  and  to  venture  forth 
into  the  unexplored  sea  of  uncertainty,  and  timidly  to 
follow  whither  the  finger  of  destiny  seems  to  point  out 
the  way. 

§  334.  Ratio  of  the  city  to  the  State  and  nation. 

In  the  next  table  will.be  found  a  statement  and 
comparative  view  of  the  increase  of  the  population  of 
the  city  of  New -York,  the  State  of  New -York,  and  of 
the  United  States,  from  1790  to  1850,  which,  if  it 
fails  to  throw  any  light  upon  the  future,  may  at  least 
serve  as  the  basis  of  an  amusing  conjecture. 


Popnlation 

Population 

Population 

Ratio 

Ratio 

Years. 

of  the 

of 

of 

of 

of  City  to 

United  States. 

New- York  State. 

New- York  city. 

City  to  State. 

U.  States. 

1790 

3,929,827 

341,120 

33,131 

.0921 

.0084 

1800 

5,305,941 

586,756 

60,489 

.1030 

.0114 

1810 

7,239,814 

959,049 

96,373 

.1005 

.0133 

1820 

9,638,191 

1,372,812 

123,706 

.0901 

.0129 

1830 

12,866,020 

1,913,006 

202,589 

.1059 

.0158 

1840 

17,069,453 

2,428,921 

•312,852 

.1281 

.0183 

1850 

23,218,199 

3,097,095 

515,507 

.1665 

.0222 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  ratio  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  this  city,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  State, 
and  still  more  as  compared  with  that  of  the  whole 
United  States,  has  rapidly  increased,  especially  during 
the  last  twenty  years.  In  1790  the  ratio  of  city  to 
State  was  as  one  to  eleven,  ftnd  in  1820  it  was  even 
below  that  point ;  but  in  1850  it  had  advanced  to  th  ' 
ratio  of  one  to  six — nearly  doubling  the  former  ratio. 
And  as  compared  with  the  population  of  the  entire 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  327 

nation  in  1790,  New -York  liad,  of  every  ten  thousand 
inhabitants  in  the  United  States,  eighty-four ;  in  1820, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  ;  and  in  1850,  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two. 

The  rate  of  increase  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States  has  been  pretty  uniformly  thirty- three  and  a 
third  per  cent,  for  each  term  of  ten  years.     If,  then, 
we  continue  this  for  fifty  years  yet  to  come,  reckon- 
ing the  populatiou  of  1850  at  twenty-three  millions, 
and  rejecting  all  odd  thousands,  we  have,  for  1860, 
thirty  millions;  for  1870,  forty  millions;  for  1880, 
fifty-three  millions  ;   for  1890,  seventy  millions  ;   and 
for  1900,  ninety-three  millions.     At  this  last  date,  we 
have  seen  that,  according  to  its  usual  rate  of  prog- 
ress, the  citv  of  New -York  will  contain  a  population 
of  five  millions,  or  about  one-nineteenth  part  of  the 
whole  nation  ;  while  in  1790  the  ratio  was  only  about 
one  to  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  in  1850  one  to 
forty-five — or,  if  the  suburbs  of  New -York  be  includ- 
ed as  part  of  the  city,  as  one  to  thirty-six. 

As  to  the  probability  that  anything  like  this  calcu- 
lation will  be  realized,  we  say  nothing  at  present — 
only  that  these  reckonings  at  this  time  appear  no 
more  improbable,  to  the  common  observer,  than,  fifty 
years  since  would  have  been  the  anticipation  of  what 
has  actually  transpired  since  that  time,  and  also  that 
the  ratio  of  growth  has  actually  increased  instead  of 
diminished  as  the  city  has  become  enlarged.     It  must 
also  be  remembered  that  in  this  reckoning  no  account 
is  made  of  the  growth  of  the  vast  suburbs  of  New- 
York  into  which,  during  the  ten  years  ending  in  1850, 
that  city  sent  out  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants.     If  these  were  included,  the  ratio  of  the 


328  CITY   OF   NEW-YORK. 

city  to  the  whole  country  would  be  very  considerably 
increased. 

§  335.  Growth  of  cities. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  growth  anticipated  in  this 
calculation  is  not  only  unprecedented  in  rapidity,  but 
also  in  extent.  There  are  no  such  cities  in  the  world 
as  New -York  will  soon  be,  according  to  thi?  reckoning, 
— and  especially  there  are  none  in  America  or  Europe 
th^t  approach  anywhere  near  to  such  a  magnitude. 
The  question  then  arises  very  naturally  w^hether  there 
is  not  a  point  of  maturity  for  cities,  as  well  as  for  most 
other  tilings,  beyond  which  they  may  not  be  expected 
to  advance  ?  It  might  be  difficult  to  affirm  that  there 
is  not  such  a  point ;  but  it  would  be  quite  as  much  so 
to  prove  that  there  is,,  and  till  that  is  done  the  question 
avails  nothing  as  an  objection.  The  progress  of  things 
in  this  country  has  always  overrun  precedents,  both 
in  the  rapidity  of  their  growth  and  the  vastness  of 
their  attainments.  A  great  change  has  occurred  in 
the  civilized  world  within  the  last  hundred  years,  and 
the  developments  of  things  are  all  on  a  greatly  en- 
larged scale.  The  old  cities  of  Europe,  as  London 
and  Paris,  are  now  growing  more  rapidly  than  ever 
before,  and  certainly  show  very  little  to  prove  the 
theory  of  maturity  in  metropolitan  stature.  The 
changed  condition  of  the  civilized,  and  especially  the 
commercial  world,  requires  larger  cities  than  have  for- 
merly existed.  With  the  increase  of  material  wealth, 
and  the  consequent  growth  of  the  useful  and  fine  arts, 
an  increased  proportion  of  the  population  of  a  country 
becomes  urban — a  change  that  is  evidently  going  for- 
ward in  this  country.    In  a  rude  state  of  society  nearly 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  329 

all  the  industry  is  occupied  in  producing  the  raw  ma- 
terials of  subsistence,  and  of  course  nearly  all  the 
working  population — which  in  such  a  state  of  society 
includes  almost  all  who  are  able  to  work — reside 
in  the  open  country,  where  these  pursuits  may  be 
prosecuted.  But  as  wealth  and  luxury  increase,  the 
number  of  citizens,  as  distinguished  from  rustics,  is 
multiplied,  and  a  relatively  less  number  of  the  opera- 
tives of  the  country  are  engaged  in  rural  occupations. 
The  rich  and  luxurious  generally  congregate  in  and 
about  great  cities;  and  thither  are  also  drawn  the 
ministers  of  their  pleasure,  who  constitute  the  great 
body,  not  only  of  player  and  parasites,  but  also  of 
fancy  artisans  and  fashionable  shopkeepers.  By  the 
operation  of  these  causes  the  growth  of  cities  will  al- 
ways correspond,  in  a  go^d  degree,  to  the  wealth  of 
the  countries  in  which  they  are  situated. 

^  336.  Population  the  basis  of  estimate. 

In  the  above  calculation  population  alone  has  been 
considered  as  the  measure  of  the  growth  and  magni- 
tude of  the  city.  This  has  been  done  chiefly  for  two 
reasons — it  is  more  definite  than  any  other  that  can 
be  assumed,  and  it  is  the  standard  commonly  used  in 
estimating  such  things.  It  is  granted  that  it  is  not 
always  rigidly  correct,  though  probably  no  other  stand- 
ard could  be  chosen  that  would  be  liable  to  so  few  ob- 
jections. We  the  more  willingly  use  it  "in  this  case, 
because  it  is  believed  that  any  other  element  of  the 
city's  growth  would  show  even  a  greater  increase  than 
this,  and  we  desire  to  employ  the  most  moderate  cal- 
culations in  our  estimates.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  the  increase  of  capital  during  the  last  fifteen 


330  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

years  has  been  in  a  much  greater  ratio  than  that  of 
population  ;  that  while  the  aggregate  of  the  latter 
has  only  a  little  more  than  doubled,  that  of  the  for- 
mer has  nearly  quadrupled.  The  statistics  of  trade, 
of  banking,  of  production,  and  of  consumption,  all  in- 
dicate a  ffreat  relative  increase  of  the  wealth  of  the 
city  over  its  population  ;  while  the  style  of  living,  of 
architecture,  and  of  equipage,  all  indicate  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  substantial  wealth  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation. Such  is  the  advanced  state  of  society  in  this 
particular,  that  the  statistics  plainly  prove  that  could 
New -York  be  saved  from  the  care  of  imported  pau- 
pers she  would  very  soon  have  none  at  all  to  provide 
for. 

§  337.  Concentration  of  trade. 

The  prosperity  of  New -York  has  always  depended 
chiefly  upon  its  commerce.  It  has  indeed  other  sour- 
ces of  prosperity,  in  its  manufactifres,  its  buildings 
giving  constant  occupation  to  a  great  number  of  arti- 
sans and  laborers,  its  schools,  its  public  institutions 
and  private  residences  ;  but  these  are  only  incidental, 
while  commerce  is  the  source  of  life  and  activity  to  the 
whole.  This  commerce  is  both  foreign  and  domestic ; 
penetrating  by  the  latter  to  every  village  and  neigh- 
borhood in  the  whole  country,  and  reaching  by  the 
former  to  every  portion  of  tlie  habitable  world.  The 
commerce  of  western  Europe  and  America  has  in- 
creased very  greatly  during  the  past  half-century, 
and  is  still  advancing  with  even  accelerated  rapidity. 
It  is  constantly  opening  new  fields  for  its  own  enter- 
prise as  well  as  greatly  enlarging  tliose  already  occu- 
pied. Its  facilities  have  been  almost  immeasurably  in- 
creased by  the  use  of  steam  in  navigation  and  on  rail- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  331 

roads.  The  most  remote  regions  of  the  earth  are  now 
as  accessible  as  were,  fifty  years  since,  the  nearest  trans- 
marine countries ;  and  the  chief  cities  of  Europe  are 
now  visited  from  New -York  with  less  difiiculty  than, 
fifty  years  ago,  a  journey  was  made  to  one  of  the  near- 
est of  our  Atlantic  cities.  As  a  result  of  this  facility 
of  traveling  and  transportation,  the  business  of  com- 
merce is  concentrating  at  certain  great  central  points. 
Merchants  are  eminently  gregarious,  and  always  in- 
cline to  the  principal  seats  of  trade;  so  that  in  propor- 
tion as  the  facilities  of  passing  from  place  to  place 
are  increased,  they  congregate  in  a  common  mart  of 
trade.  The  restrictions  laid  on  trade  by  governments 
generally  shut  up  the  chief  part  of  the  commerce  of  each 
country  within  its  own  bounds ;  so  that  each  country 
will  have  one  principal  seat  of  trade.  Sometimes, 
where  countries  have  been  of  great  extent,  they  have 
had  more  than  one  principal  seat  of  commerce.  But 
this  could  arise  only  from  the  difiiculty  of  internal 
intercommunications.  In  the  existing  state  of  things 
our  country  can  ha#e  but  one  commercial  emporium 
on  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  and  no  one  need  be  told 
that  New -York  must  be  that  one. 

§  338.  Whence  can  the  people  be  gotten? 

The  most  formidable  diflSculty  in  the  way  of  real- 
izing these  anticipations  seems  to  be  in  finding  so 
large  a  number  of  persons  to  add  to  our  present  popu- 
lation. The  utmost  that  could  be  calculated  upon, 
independent  of  immigration,  would  be  an  increase  of 
one  hundred  per  cent,  in  fifty  years,  leaving  more  than 
forty  millions  to  be  supplied  from  foreign  countries. 
That  there  will  long  continue  to  be  large  accessions  of 

15 


332  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

foreigners  to  our  population,  does  not  admit  of  doubt, 
but  the  fountains  whence  our  present  streams  of  immi- 
grants are  drawn  will  be  quite  exhausted  before  the 
immense  demands  made  by  this  calculation  can  be  sat- 
isfied. Though  Ireland  were  left  an  uninhabited  waste, 
and  whole  duchies  and  principalities  in  Germany 
depopulated  to  give  their  population  to  America,  still 
the  demand  would  be  unsatisfied.  AYe  know  not  what 
revolutions,  political  or  social,  may  yet  arise  to  send 
the  inhabitants  of  the  great  kingdoms  of  Europe  by 
millions  to  our  shores ;  or  by  which  the  countless  hosts 
of  Asia  shall  be  drawn  hither  to  mingle  with  our  own 
people,  and  to  become  incorporated  into  the  social 
mass  of  our  population.  There  are,  no  doubt,  people 
enough  in  the  world,  and  enough  that  could  be  spared 
from  the  over-crowded  cities  and  countries  of  the  Old 
World,  to  afford  a  million  annually  for  half  a  century 
to  occupy  the  wastes  of  America,  without  diminishing 
at  all  the  strength  of  their  own  population.  But  it  is 
not  so  certain  that  sucli  a  transfer  will  be  made. 
Yet  even  this  is  not  now  more  ii^probable  than  was, 
twenty-five  years  ago,  the  immense  immigration  that 
has  actually  taken  place  within  the  few  last  years. 

§  339.  Natural  advantages  of  New  -York. 

Nature  has  done  everything  for  New -York  to  ren- 
der it  the  commercial  capital  of  North  America.  Its 
harbor  is  universally  confessed  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  spacious  enough  to 
give  sea-room  at  once  to  all  the  shipping  in  the  world. 
Its  depth  of  water  at  the  wharves  is  sufficient  for  the 
largest  vessels,  and  in  most  of  the  space  within  the 
ample  area  of  the  bay  the  largest  ship  may  safely  ride 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  333 

at  anchor.  The  depth  of  the  channel  leading  through 
the  Narrows  toward  the  ocean  varies  from  six  to  eight 
fathoms ;  and  upon  the  har  at  Sandj-Hook,  at  the 
lowest  tides,  there  are  four  fathoms  of  water,  or  more 
than  five  fathoms  at  high-water.  By  the  combined 
influences  of  the  climate,  the  saltness  of  the  water, 
and  the  strength  of  the  currents  setting  toward  the 
sea,  the  harbor  is  almost  entirely  free  from  obstruc- 
tions by  ice,  so  that  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  vessels 
enter  and  clear  at  her  port  at  all  times  with  the  same 
facility. 

§  340.  Inland  commerce. 
For  internal  commerce  the  provisions  of  nature  are 
also  abundant.  First  comes  the  noble  Hudson,  pene- 
trating far  into  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  naviga- 
ble almost  its  entire  length,  thus  offering  a  ready 
means  of  commercial  intercourse  with  all  that  part  of 
the  State  that  lies  along  or  near  its  banks — all  indeed 
that,  until  the  present  century,  was  occupied  by  white 
men.  In  the  western  portion  of  the  State  lies  the  fer- 
tile region  of  the  Genesee — the  land  of  promise  to 
agricultural  adventurers  thirty  years  since.  From 
this  fertile  region  the  natural  means  of  transportation 
was  originally  very  imperfect,  yet  not  entirely  defi- 
cient. By  means  of  the  Mohawk  and  Oswego  Eivers, 
and  the  lakes,  a  system  of  navigation  was  maintained, 
though  with  much  labor  and  at  great  expense  of  time. 
But  though  nature  had  not  provided  an  adequate 
channel  of  communication  with  this  store-house  of  her 
products,  she  had  prepared  the  way  for  man  to  pro- 
vide one  for  himself.  From  the  Hudson  to  Lake  Erie 
was  an  unbroken  extent  of  level  and  well-watered  sur- 
face, inviting  the  hand  of  industry  to  open,  at  com- 


384  CITY  UF  NEW-YORK. 

paratively  small  expense,  an  artificial  channel  to  con- 
nect these  two  great  highways  of  commerce.  This 
was  accomplished  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago, — 
and  by  its  completion  the  Erie  Canal  irreversibly  fixed 
the  destiny  of  New -York  as  the  commercial  capital  of 
America. 

By  means  of  this  canal  the  entire  region  of  the 
great  lakes  was  at  once  opened  to  New -York,  and 
every  step  in  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
fertile  regions  that  lay  along  their  shores  is  so  much 
added  to  the  resources  of  that  city.  By  the  rapid  fill- 
ing up  of  the  great  north-west  with  a  thrifty  and  en- 
terprising population,  the  business  of  New -York  has 
been  greatly  augmented;  and  to  this,  as  a  principal 
cause,  may  be  attributed  its  unprecedented  growth 
during  the  last  few  years.  The  want  of  adaptation 
of  canals  for  rapid  transportation,  and  their  liability 
to  entire  suspension  by  frost,  has  been  compensated 
for  by  the  construction  of  railroads,  especially  that 
Avhich  immediately  unites  the  city  to  the  shores  of 
Lake  Erie. 

By  means  of  these  great  thoroughfares  of  trade,  the 
whole  of  the  great  west  has  become  tributary  to  the 
commerce  of  New -York  ;  and  its  productions,  from  as 
far  south  as  Tennessee,  seek  an  avenue  to  the  sea- 
board by  the  canals  and  railroads  of  New -York.  The 
current  of  travel  has  also  been  attracted  into  tlie  same 
channel,  as  it  is  now  proved  that  the  best  route  from 
the  Atlantic  cities,  as  far  south  as  Washington,  to 
the  towns  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi — to  say  nothing 
of  those  on  the  great  lakes — is  by  way  of  the  city  of 
New -York,  and  over  the  railroads  of  that  State  to 
Ijuke  Eric.     The  idea  seems  indeed  poetical,  but  it  is 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEVV-YOKK.  S'd5 

nevertheless  true,  that  under  the  operation  of  these 
causes  New -York  has  become  so  enriched  that  she 
may  call  Ohio  her  kitchen-garden,  Michigan  and  Wis- 
consin her  pastures,  and  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Iowa, 
her  harvest-fields ;  and  in  turn  these  wealthy  and 
flourishing  States  may  claim  a  proprietorship  in  New- 
York  as  their  mart  of  commerce,  and  the  gate  through 
which  they  send  out  their  superabundance,  to  receive 
in  return  the  riches  of  foreign  countries. 

§  341.  Relations  with  other  cities. 

By  reason  of  this  growth  of  the  commerce  of  New- 
York,  those  cities  that  have  formerly  been  her  rivals 
are  rapidly  assuming  the  relation  of  auxiliaries  and 
dependencies.  The  equipoise  that  formerly  existed, 
by  reason  of  which  the  gain  of  one  was,  in  some  sense, 
the  loss  of  the  other,  has  been  destroyed,  and  the 
rivalry  has  been  exchanged  for  a  community  of  inter- 
ests. In  consequence  of  this  the  growth  of  her  sister 
cities  is  the  gain  of  New -York,  since  from  its  stores 
must  come  the  supplies  upon  which  their  growing  pop- 
ulation depends,  and  through  it  must  go  forth  those 
productions  and  fabrics  that  these  cities  send  forth 
upon  the  wings  of  commerce ;  and  in  both  the  inward 
and  outward  passage  a  transit-duty  is  paid  to  the 
merchants  of  New -York.  As  a  commercial  nation, 
America  has  its  heart  at  New -York,  and  every  in- 
crease of  the  resources  of  the  nation  must  also  be  a 
commercial  contribution  to  that  city. 

^  342.  New -York  as  a  place  of  residence. 

As  a  place  of  residence.  New -York  possesses  very 
many  natural  advantages.     Its  intermediate  position 


336  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

between  the  rigors  of  a  higher  latitude  and  the  ener- 
vating warmth,  and  exposure  to  pestilence,  of  a  lower 
one,  gives  it  decided  advantages  over  places  consider- 
ably removed  either  to  the  north  or  south  of  it.  It  is 
believed  that  the  belt  of  country  lying  between  the 
thirty-eighth  and  forty-second  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude is,  of  all  our  country,  the  best  adapted  to  the 
perfect  physical  development  of  its  inhabitants — and, 
of  course,  io  their  mental  growth  and  activity ;  and  in 
this  region  New -York  occupies  a  nearly  midway  posi- 
tion. Though  the  statistics  of  mortality  may  not 
seem  at  first  sight  to  justify  a  claim  to  superior  health- 
iness of  the  climate,  a  closer  examination  will  quite 
obviate  this  objection.  For  a  number  of  years  past 
the  population  of  the  city  has  been,  to  a  very  consid- 
erable degree,  an  imported  one ;  at  present  nearly 
one-half  is  of  European  origin,  and  even  more  than 
one-half  of  the  whole  population  of  the  city,  at  this 
time,  grew  up  and  formed  their  physical  constitutions 
amonff  influences  more  or  less  unlike  those  of  New- 
York.  If  such  bring  with  them  the  latent  seeds  of 
disease,  which  develop  themselves  in  our  city,  the 
climate  of  New -York  is  not  responsible  for  their  pre- 
mature decay.  The  best  test  of  the  salubrity  of  the 
climate  of  this  place  is  afforded  by  the  statistics  of 
the  city  of  Brooklyn,  whose  inhabitants  are,  in  a  much 
greater  ratio,  of  American  extraction,  and  a  very  large 
portion  of  them  are  natives  of  New -York  city.  The 
mortality  of  Brooklyn,  as  compared  with  New -York, 
is  only  as  three  to  five — a  rate  that  is  believed  to  be 
considerably  lower  than  that  of  any  large  city  in  the 
world.  And  notwitlistanding  all  tliese  disadvantages 
the  ratio  of  mortality  in  New -York  is  very  little  higher 


THE  FUTURE  OF  NEW-YORK.  337 

than  in  most  other  American  or  European  cities,  and 
actually  lower  than  that  of  many  which  are  exempt 
from  its  peculiar  incidental  disadvantages. 

§  343.  Advantages  of  the  ground-plot. 

For  a  city  whose  inhabitants  shall  be  counted  by 
millions,  the  ground-plot  of  New -York  city  is  decid- 
edly excellent.  This  could  not  be  said  of  the  city 
while  confined  to  Manhattan  Island;  which,  though 
sufficiently  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  a  dense  city, 
affords  very  little  variety,  and  almost  absolutely  re- 
pels the  approach  of  suburban  embellishments.  But 
the  New -York  of  the  future,  while  its  central  seat 
will  still  be  on  Manhattan  Island,  will  reach  out  her 
vast  arms  and  take  in  the  whole  western  end  of  Long 
Island,  the  whole  of  Staten  Island,  a  vast  extent  of 
the  coast  of  New-Jersey,  and  a  considerable  portion  of 
Westchester  County  beyond  Harlem  Eiver  ;  and  with- 
in this  space  is  found  every  variety  of  surface,  soil, 
and  physical  configuration.  Already  these  places  are 
becoming  the  seats  of  villages,  built  by  capital  from 
the  city,  and  occupied  by  a  teeming  population  from 
the  city,  who  still  .continue  to  spend  their  hours  of 
business  in  the  great  metropolis.  Here,  too,  in  every 
direction,  are  springing  up  the  suburban  villas  of  more 
opulent  citizens,  who  seek  beyond  the  din  and  dust  of 
the  city  proper,  the  quiet  that  is  there  denied  them. 
Here,  too,  are  rising  a  multitude  of  public  institutions — 
charitable,  religious,  and  literary — by  all  of  which  the 
recent  scenes  of  rural  industry  are  becoming  trans- 
formed into  scenes  of  the  animated  turmoil  of  city  life. 


33b  CITY  OF  NEW-YUKK. 

§  344.  Character  of  the  future  city. 

The  New -York  of  1900  will  probably  be  a  much 
less  compactly  built  city  than  that  which  now  occu- 
pies the  southern  extremity  of  Manhattan  Island. 
The  overgrown  proportions  of  the  city  are  rapidly 
familiarizing  the  people  with  long  distances.  It  is 
now  no  unusual  thing  for  people  to  reside  three,  four, 
or  five  miles  from  their  places  of  business,  and  things 
are  arranging  themselves  to  suit  this  state  of  affairs. 
Means  of  conveyance  at  minimum  expenses,  both  of 
time  and  money,  are  coming  into  extensive  use,  by 
which  the  regions  round  about  the  city,  as  far  as  ten 
miles  from  the  center  of  business,  are  brought  into 
such  intimate  union  with  the  city  itself  as  to  render 
them  suitable  and  even  economical  places  of  residence 
for  those  who  spend  their  hours  of  business  in  the 
densest  part  of  the  town.  These  facilities  for  travel- 
ing short  distances  outward  and  inward  are  already 
producing  marked  effects  on  the  suburbs  of  New- 
York  ;  and  if  its  population  shall  continue  to  increase 
as  it  has  done,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  yet  greater 
proportional  effects  will  be  produced.  Fifty  years 
hence  a  city  of  cottages  with  gardens,  and  villas  with 
parks  and  pleasure-grounds,  and  clusters  of  dwellings 
among  cultivated  fields  and  miniature  groves,  will 
cover  a  circular  area  of  fifty  miles  diameter,  centering 
at  the  present  site  of  the  City  Hall. 

§  345.  Conclusion. 

Such  is  the  prospective  progress  of  New -York  city, 
as  foreshadowed  by  its  past  and  present.  But  all  such 
calculations  are  exceedingly  liable  to  many  and  great 


THE  FUTURE  01?  NEW-YORK.  339 

variations.  What  the  future  will  be  is  entirely  un- 
known, and  all  our  estimates  and  calculations  are 
little  better  than  plausible  conjectures ;  yet  who  can 
say  that  they  are  not  reasonable  ?  The  same  Provi- 
dence that  has  so  wonderfully  prospered  the  city 
hitherto  may  indefinitely  prolong  its  progress  toward 
more  advanced  greatness,  or  he  may  suddenly  cast 
down  what  has  thus  been  built  up.  But,  trusting  in 
his  continued  mercy,  we  may  hope  that  the  day  of 
our  diminution  is  far  distant. 


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A  production  which  bears  the  marks  of  extensive  research  and  admirable 
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of  families  as  well  as  of  professional  students. — New -York  Tribune. 

We  freely  acknowledge  our  obhgation  to  the  author  for  the  information  com- 
municated in  his  pages,  and  for  the  modern  interest — for  lack  of  a  more 
Sditable  expression — with  which  he  has  invested  the  history  of  the  ancient 
Hebrew  people. — New  -York  Independent. 

It  is  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  literature  of  Methodism.  The  work  is 
one  of  great  interest ;  and,  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  reading  of  the 
Bible,  will  be  highly  prized  by  the  Christian  student. — Methodist  Protestant. 

Law's  Serioifs  Call. 

Serious  Call  to  a  Holy  Life.  By  Rev.  William  Law.  Abridged  by  Rey. 
John  Wesley,  A.  M.     Six-th  tJwnsond. 

ISmc,  pp.  307.    Muslin  or  sheep $0  35 

"  In  1727  I  read  Mr.  Law's  Serious  Call,  and  more  especially  resolved  to  be 
all  devoted  to  God,  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit  ;"  and  later  he  speaks  of  it  as 
"  a  treatise  which  will  hardly  be  excelled,  if  it  be  equalled,  in  the  English 
tongue,  either  for  beauty  of  expression  or  for  justness  ajid  depth  of  thought." 
—J.  Wesley. 

Ryder's  Superannuate. 

The  Superannuate ;  or,  Anecdotes,  Incidents,  and  Sketches  of  the  Life 
and  Experience  of  William  Ryder,  a  superannuated  Preacher  of  the 
Troy  Conference.     Related  by  Himself. 

18mo.,  pp.160.    Muslin $0  30 

Young's  Inquirer. 

The  Inquirer  after  Salvation  affectionately  Addressed.  By  Rev.  Robert 
YouXG.     Seventh  thousand. 

18mo.,  pp.  32.    Paper  covers $0  05 

fjtr  Attention  ia  [lurliciilurly  rcqiiioleU  to  tlio  ucw  Cla«sifif<l  and  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  15o..ks, 
Tracts,  Ac,  published  bythe  Meth.idiat  Epiacojml  Church,  which  can  be  readily  obtained  fr.  in 
the  Agents,  Messrs.  Carlton  A  rhillijw,  No.  VOO  Mulberry-street,  New- York,  or  from  .Memim. 
Swnnnstedt  A  Poe,  corner  of  Main  and  Kighth  stroeH,  Cincinnati. 


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